Phoenix
by GracefullPhantom
Summary: A normal, plain, boring girl. Except for one thing, she couldn't die. There were some things in this world that made her wish she could, but alive she shall remain until the end of time. She may be the only one who can outlast Loki's tricks to see him through to the end. Slight AU and eventual [LokiXOC].
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. So recently I just posted an Avengers fic for my first time, and that story was a little strange to say the least haha. I took it down because I wasn't terribly fond of it. But then I tried my hand at writing again and this appeared before me! If I'm honest I'm totally in love with my own story, as narcissistic as that is, and I would greatly appreciate it if you guys left reviews. They really help fuel the story, I know each and every one of you who writes understand how nice it is to know that someone likes your story. So please, honest feedback would be wonderful!**

 **Thanks for clicking on my story, enjoy.**

* * *

 **1**

"Renaissance Stripe was declared dead Tuesday night at 11:03 without a penny to her name, and when the five people in her life attended her funeral, she was alive again. Would someone please care to explain what in the holy hell happened?"

"Uh, well Director Fury—"

"We have another superhero in our midst, or at the very least some kind of mutant, that's what. Now everyone needs to get up off their lazy backsides to find and retrieve this girl before someone else does."

Maria shut her mouth and calmly turned away from her royally pissed off Director. There were only two ways she knew how to calm him, and that was to bring him coffee or leave him the hell alone. She had already done one of those, and she wasn't going back in there to accomplish the second.

The worst part is that Fury wasn't even supposed to know about this. It was of course this week that he had decided to drop by when they were making major decisions without him. It was supposed to be a 'surprise' of sorts. Really, all they wanted was to see if this girl would be worth the trouble because other than not dying, she possessed no special skills.

Agent West had been informed of this story a week ago today. He had been sent with a small team of four to retrieve Renaissance and bring her back to headquarters unscathed. Yet he had not returned. There has been no word from him, or from the soldiers either. She had no idea where they could've gone or what they were doing.

Maria wasn't the type to worry or lose her mind to emotion, that's why she had this job in the first place, but something didn't quite add up. According to Renaissance's file, she was the type who would never harm another living creature in her life.

Renaissance had been a poor girl living in the shadows of Chicago. All she had was her mother, her father, her two younger siblings, and a bedridden grandmother. Her family lived in a small two bedroom apartment somewhere in the worst parts of town.

Her death was nothing remarkable, she merely got hit by a bus. It was the aftermath that took the world by storm.

To put it simply, there was no way a simple starving street girl could fend off a group of specially trained agents from S.H.E.L.D, not unless it wasn't her, and _that_ was what made Maria worry. Just a little bit.

Because if that was the case, then she was far more valuable than anyone had anticipated.

* * *

Rena had never known pain until she died.

When she saw that bus coming, she knew it had to be karma. Why else would she have gotten hit right after her first time stealing a loaf of bread and some apples?

What could she say though, her family was desperate. Really, truly, terribly desperate. They didn't need to know that's she'd stolen it. In fact, she had been trying to come up with a suitable lie on her way back home but in her haste and distraction she wasn't watching the road.

Before she died all she could feel was an intense pain in the back of her skull. There was a sharp tang of blood in her mouth and she couldn't stop her eyes from closing as she thought that this was it.

It wasn't though. Because some time later she woke up, feeling perfectly fine.

When the memories started rushing back to her, she panicked and sat up, not recognizing where or what she was lying in. She was horrified to find that she was in the middle of a funeral. _Her_ funeral. She was in a deep hole in the ground, wrapped in sheets and partially covered by dirt. She untangled herself and stood to see her father slowly burying her. When he saw her, he jumped away and turned pale as if he'd seen a ghost.

"R-Rena?" he said in a shaky voice, "Rena? My darling little girl, are you… really you?"

"Dad?" she asked questioningly.

Without hesitation he went over and hauled her out of the hole. Behind him she spotted the rest of her family and her mother stopped weeping when she heard the commotion.

"Renaissance?" she asked in her thick French accent.

"Mother, I don't know what happened either."

Her mom didn't jump up as quickly as her father, but she still came over to hug her nonetheless. Her younger brother and sister attacked each of her legs and their crying quickly turned to laughter as they merely thought this as just another game.

Two days later, the rest of the world found out about the phenomena that was Renaissance Stripe. Apparently the owner of the cemetery had lent them a small patch of land for her to be buried in as her father used to be friends with him a long time ago.

She wouldn't have gotten a headstone or anything, but an overgrown tree would've been symbol enough for the family.

However, he had been watching from afar, and he took a couple of hours to check his sanity to make sure he wasn't seeing things. When he got his mind set and was sure he wasn't crazy, he quickly contacted the police and they investigated the matter.

The press came in soon after and things just went in a steady stream of madness from there. There were many statements from policemen and doctors that had tended to her. They all said the same thing: her heart had stopped, rigor mortis had set in, and she had been stiff and cold when she had died.

They spent two days preparing her for her little funeral when all that jazz of her coming back to life happened. When the paparazzi stormed her and her family's house she was completely overwhelmed. She had been wearing a ragged sweatshirt and jeans when they had burst down the door in a chaotic frenzy.

She was soon whisked away in a torrent of questions and interviews. She got letters to famous talk shows asking if she would be willing to come on the air. Some even offered small amounts of revenue due to her sudden claim to fame and that helped the family out immensely.

Three more days later came another knock on her door. By now everyone had been used to it, so Renaissance went to answer the door with a smile.

Instead of flashing lights or cameras or mics, she was met with five sullen faces and men with large guns. Her smile faded and she tried not to shrink into herself, "How can I help you?" she asked nervously. Her already timid voice coming out like a tiny squeak.

The man in the front, the one without a gigantically obvious gun, reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He held up a little golden badge, "Agent Russel West. Don't worry, we aren't here to hurt you miss. We've merely come to collect you."

"Collect me?"

"Yes. As I'm sure you're aware of, normal people don't usually come back to life after they die. I'm with a top secret agency known as S.H.E.L.D and we would like for you to join us. May we come in to talk of this further?"

She didn't feel like she could say no, so she stepped aside to let them enter.

The rest of her family came over, curious, and they all spent a very long time talking.

There was a point where the agent asked to scan her with some little handheld device. She allowed him to and he did it quickly and quietly. She wanted to know what he found, to see what was on his screen, but he told her that he would tell her later once they were safely at their headquarters.

There was no choice for her to stay with her family, and they couldn't come with so Agent West said he would work on moving them somewhere safe where they could be comfortable and happy. Rena wasn't too delighted with this plan, but she didn't really want to find out if her rebirth had been a fluke or not. Those guns did not look friendly.

The group left swiftly after allowing Rena to pack a single duffel bag with whatever she so desired. She opted out of lots of clothing as those would be heavy and she figured she'd be getting new ones anyway if she was being taken away.

Instead she brought a couple of grainy photos, a sweatshirt for the ride there, and a small box that contained her most precious item.

It was a velvet, dark green box, and in the box was her family's heirloom. It was a ring made of 18k gold and inlaid with a single, large emerald. She was told that it was her great, great grandmother's wedding band. Her mother had made her promise never to sell it, no matter how awful things got, because family and memories were more important to her mom then money.

She also took a hat, just because she could.

When she was finished the group of agents led her into a black car parked just outside her family's shabby apartment and they drove off silently into the night.

Eventually they made their way to a tall building. They took the, rather crowded, elevator to the top where there sat a massive helicopter and a pilot. When she looked at the thing, she knew it was no ordinary helicopter. This thing was made for war.

Agent West helped her into the copter and told her to buckle up. The takeoff was smooth and there was a window by her head that she could look out of and admire the view.

Sometime into the quiet ride she thought it appropriate to ask where they were headed. She hoped it wasn't somewhere cold.

"New York. That's where one of our main bases of operations is, and also where Director Fury is as of current."

"Fury?"

"Director Nick Fury, your new boss so to speak."

She made a small 'o' with her mouth and looked back out the window, but instead of seeing the night sky she saw a dark gloved hand.

Rena wrenched herself from the window as best she could and let loose a scared shriek. Suddenly the door was wrenched open and another group of soldiers came bursting in. The other members rose to their feet and began fighting the dark green-clad attackers.

"Hydra members? Guess I shouldn't be that surprised," Agent West exclaimed. He pulled out a gun but before he could react he was promptly shot in the chest and knocked to the ground.

Rena screamed again and squirmed in her seat as the others fell quickly. They didn't say anything as they advanced upon her, but without warning the doors shut with a firm _click_ and the helicopter started in a slow decent downwards.

The soldiers ignored her and headed for the cockpit. A door had come from nowhere, locking the pilot in and the 'Hydra' members were currently trying to bust down the door. There was a crackle of noise, and then a voice who she assumed was the pilot came over the speakers.

"I haven't known you long, but I know S.H.E.L.D wants you. If what they say about you is true then you should survive this. Get to New York, find your way to Stark Tower, and talk to Tony Stark. He can help you. Probably. Good luck."

One of the attackers got part of the door open, but before he could do anything, the helicopter crumpled into the water and promptly blew up.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

Rena was currently feeling the worst headache in all her life when she finally regained consciousness.

She had no idea how long it had been, but she came to a lot faster than the two days before her funeral because she was still surrounded by small patches fire. To her left was a waterlogged body, and on her right waves gently lapped at the shore.

She looked down at her hands, feeling confused and like she should be dead, but there were no marks anywhere to be found. The realization of actually still being alive made her lightheaded. She looked around at the wreckage and was mortified that she really was the only survivor.

The pilot's last words echoed through her hazy mind. She was able to pick out a few key words such as _New York,_ and _Stark_ and _help_. Yeah that's what she needed right now, help. She needed it real bad.

Rena stood on shaky legs, her hair was a mess. Her body was naked and soaked to the bone as she had been washed up as well, and she was covered in a mixture of dirt, sand, and metal scraps. She shook out the worst of it, but what she really needed was a good long shower. She took some of the clothes off a nearby soldier, the one who appeared to be the shortest, and tried to fit into his still too big clothes.

When she was situated she looked around to try and get her bearings. She had no idea where she was, but she could see flickering lights across the small lake she was near.

She started walking, trying her best to remain on her feet. After some time she reached a small town and she stopped someone to ask for directions. The streets were mostly deserted at this time of night, so she was glad that there just so happened to be a random gentleman nearby.

He was tall and muscular and was wearing a white T-shirt that she probably just got mud on when she tapped his shoulder. She had a last minute thought that she might get mugged and killed, but she hoped it was just her nerves making her think that. Also, why did she have to touch him? She could've just said 'excuse me!' like a normal person and he probably would've turned around all the same.

No matter, she had to focus. She had to know where on Earth she was supposed to go, "Where am I?" her voice was hoarse when she spoke and she tried not to shrink into herself.

He looked at her with his kind blue eyes like she was crazy when he saw the right state she was in, but answered anyway, "Kingston, Canada."

"Canada? How far away is New York? I… I have to get to a place called Stark Tower…"

The man whistled low and ran a hand through his blond hair, "Stark Tower huh? Well you are a long ways away. Stark Tower is on 200 Park Avenue, and that's in Manhattan on the _other_ side of New York."

She dragged a hand down her face and let loose a small humorless laugh, "Hoo boy. I guess I have a lot of walking to do. Thank you."

Rena started to turn away, but the man stopped her again. He pulled out his wallet and handed her some money, "Here take this. You should be able to ride the train to Albany no problem."

She hesitated, "Oh I… I couldn't…" she knew she needed it, but she felt wrong taking his money.

But he smiled kindly at her, "It's alright take it. You need it more than I do."

She paused before taking it, and then smiled brightly, "Thank you so much. I would hug you if I weren't in such a state." She then waved goodbye and set off towards the nearest train station.

Turns out that finding said station wasn't as easy as she thought. Eventually though she made her way around and got to where she needed to be. The people stared at her weird for the way she looked, but she didn't care. She was so happy to be sitting and feeling at least semi-normal.

The ride was long and boring but she was glad to be able to catch up on some sleep. She had to switch trains at some point, but she was glad to be able to stretch her legs and get a snack with some of the left over money.

When the long and boring ride was over Rena took a moment to brace herself in Albany before trying to find Stark Tower. She still had thirty dollars and twelve cents left over by some miracle, so she could try and get a taxi to take her as far as they could.

When she finally hailed a taxi he said that with that money he'd only be able to take her about half an hour in. He told her it'd be better to just take the bus if that was all she had because it would be much cheaper.

The bus was able to take her as far as a place called Yonkers and from there, now that she was broke, she would have to walk.

The trek through Manhattan was rather beautiful. She made sure to ask for directions often and most people just told her to stick to the river and that she couldn't miss the gigantic sparkling building. She had thought the people were exaggerating, but when she got into the most condensed part of this town, she saw it. A massive glittering tower with a glowing sign that read _STARK_ on it.

She felt a massive relief lift from her shoulders knowing that she was almost there.

She had been walking for nearly six hours with a lot of breaks and had only eaten a large soft pretzel and some peanuts in the past few days. Needless to say, she was ready to eat until her stomach burst and take a nap for the rest of the century. With each step the tower got closer and her excitement grew. Finally, _finally_ , she came to the front door where the sliding glasses opened for her to reveal a beautiful office entryway.

The secretary at the front desk looked up at her and Rena felt as if she were immediately judged, she felt uncomfortable but walked up to her anyway.

"Uh hi," she said awkwardly, "I need to speak with Tony Stark?"

The secretary pushed up her glasses, "Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh… oh no but…"

"Then you cannot meet with Mr. Stark until you have arranged a time and date. He's a very busy man you know."

I pursed my lips, "I know but I really need to—"

"I'm sure that whatever it is it can wait. Now please, run along."

Her phone started ringing and she picked it up, completely ignoring her. Rena crossed her arms and looked to her left where she saw a heavily guarded glass elevator that lead all the way to the top.

She was about to turn and leave to formulate another form of attack, but then she heard the secretary as she spoke, "Yes Mr. Stark. Of course I'll have one of the staff send it up soon. Yes of course."

Suddenly Rena got a wild idea in her head and before she could really think it through she vaulted her short body over the desk and grabbed the phone from the secretary's hands. The women was baffled for a moment before screaming for security.

Rena panicked as security guards started closing in on her, but she pressed the phone to her face anyway, "Tony Stark? Please! You have to help me, I was sent here to find you by my pilot who crashed the helicopter he said you could help me with something called S.H.E.L.D?"

The other end crackled a bit, _"S.H.E.L.D? Who is th—"_

The call was cut short as the guard wrenched it away from her. He started to drag her away and she started kicking and screaming in protest. She don't know where that side of her had come from, but she supposed that since she had come this far there was no way she was backing down without a fight.

Besides, what if those Hydra guys come after her again? At least the S.H.E.L.D people had the decency to knock first. It scared her to think that had she not been able to come back to life, that if she had some other mutant power instead, that those people would've taken her to wherever they wanted her. She could be miles away from here, she could've been tortured or killed or worse. And it was all because she had some kind of power.

Just as she was about to be thrown out the door, a voice boomed over a PA system, "Gentleman! Please, that is not how you treat a lady. Amber, let her through."

"But Mr. Stark, you said…"

"Yeah I know what I said. Just go ahead and let her through, m'kay?"

The security guards let her go and the secretary Amber begrudgingly pressed a button which opened the elevator doors. Rena gingerly rubbed her wrists as she stepped in. The doors slid closed silently and she tried not to meet the blinding glare coming from the secretary on the ride up.

When she arrived at the very top floor the double doors flew open and she came face to face with a massive penthouse. She stepped out, admiring all that the room had to offer, and when she heard the clinking of ice on glass she turned to see a man standing at a bar with a glass of whiskey in his hands. He had dark hair and a glowing symbol on his shirt.

"So what do you want with S.H.E.L.D now?" he asked blatantly. He wasn't drunk, but she could tell that he wasn't exactly sober either.

Rena fiddled nervously with the hem of her stolen clothes and scratched her arm, "Well…"

The man came around the counter so he could get a better look at her. He stopped just short of running her over and he rubbed his chin in thought. From here, she could see the glowing symbol better, and she tried not to gasp when she saw that it was underneath his shirt rather than on it.

"You're wearing their uniform. Are you some kind of new recruit? And if so, they definitely didn't size you right."

Rena took in a deep breath and shrugged, "Maybe. I'm not sure. All I know is that your agents came to my house and they were bringing me here to New York. Three-quarters of the way here we were attacked by some people that I guess were called Hydra. Then my pilot dive bombed the plane, and I was still alive, but everyone else was dead, and then I made my way here and there was a nice guy who gave me money and then—!"

Her voice got higher and higher pitched and more breathless with each word she spoke. Eventually she ran out of air and sanity and she double over. She hadn't realized that by some miraculous reason, she was still alive. How? That didn't seem fair, those agents had a life of their own she was sure of it. They all seemed like hard workers, she wasn't sure about good people, but she wanted to remain optimistic. Yet here she was, a literal nobody, still alive and kicking.

Then Tony started talking, "Well first of all, I'm flattered that you think they're my agents. Secondly, Hydra did you say? That is some mighty unfortunate timing. We can talk about that later. For now follow me, I'll call Fury. Oh, and what's your name?"

Rena stood and her breathing evened out some. She smoothed down some of the more wild hairs on her head before following after him, "Renaissance Stripe."

Tony paused to give her a look, "Your parents named you Renaissance?"

"It means rebirth in French. Also my mother was a huge history buff. Also I realize how ironically true my name is now that I'm speaking it out loud."

Tony let out a laugh and kept walking, "Alright I'll give you that one queen of second chances. J.A.R.V.I.S? Get Fury on the line."

There was soft blip of recognition, and then a robotic voice spoke up, "Right away sir." Rena was perplexed by this new technology, well new to her anyway, and she looked around but couldn't see anyone or anything in sight.

Rena stood next to Tony as they stood before a large television screen. Her eyes widened at the sight as the thing was larger than her entire bedroom back home.

There was the sound of a phone ringing. The ringing went on for a while then suddenly the screen changed and she found herself looking at a dark skinned man with an eyepatch over his left eye. He looked angry and like he hadn't sleep in days. He let out a sigh in irritation when he saw the two of them, "Tony Stark. What could you possibly want now?"

With a flourish of his hands, he swept them in an arc towards Rena and smiled, "Ta-da. I present to you your rising phoenix!"

The man furrowed his brow, "What?"

"The girl who can't die, remember? You told me and Bruce about her yesterday? Renaissance…. Something."

"Stripe," I added quietly.

The one known as Fury widened his visible eye, "Oh. You… how did you find her?"

Tony shrugged, "She found me. Showed up in my building not ten minutes ago, and my secretary was about to throw her out the door too, can you believe that? I only caught her because I wanted know if dinner was ready yet, and boy am I glad I did! Speaking of that, J.A.R.V.I.S tell Amber to make it a double, I'm sure Renaissance is hungry."

He gave me a look as if to verify the command and I nodded, perfectly content to eat.

Fury let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed a hand down his face, "Normally, Miss Stripe, I would have you in for briefing immediately so you can be aware of your current situation and everything that's been happening to you, but for tonight you can simply stay at Stark's place as I assume you've had a long journey. Let me just ask one thing though, did you travel all the way here from Kingston alone?"

Rena shifted uncomfortably under his sharp gaze. While he looked like he wanted to maul her, she somehow knew that that would be the last thing he would do. It still didn't make her feel any less exposed though.

"I… I don't mean any disrespect, but how did you know that's where I was?"

"Roughly three days ago your helicopter crashed. When the engine exploded it automatically sent out a distress signal that went directly to our headquarters. Apparently we already had one of my agents looking for you, but there had been no word up until then. I sent another agent out there to come find you, but I was informed that there was no one alive among the wreckage."

Rena looked down at her feet, "Oh… yeah. We were attacked. Your agent said it was by some people called Hydra?"

Fury rolled his eye and groaned, "Wonderful. Well, we'll talk about this more later. For now Renaissance, rest up. You've earned it. I will see you both at eleven o'clock sharp tomorrow. I'd meet you earlier but unfortunately I have a prearranged meeting," he nodded his head at them, "Until then."

The line went dead and the two were left to stare at the blank screen and then there was a clinking of glass as Tony raised his arms as if in celebration, "Woo hoo sleepover!" he shouted before promptly turning away.

She was about to say something, not entirely sure what, when the elevator doors opened and two women walked in. one was clearly part of the staff as she was pushing a silver cart, and the other looked to be a high profile business women.

The business women stared at Rena for a moment, before moving to address Tony. She handed him a manila folder and crossed her arms, "J.A.R.V.I.S just finished cleaning up your new suit, and that's the file that Fury wanted you to look at regarding the missing girl he's looking for."

Tony looked at Rena, then at the women with cropped light orange hair, and then down at the file, "Oh that reminds me," he then threw the file over his shoulder unceremoniously and gestured towards the mystery women, "Ren this is Pepper, my personal secretary. Pepper, this is Ren, the missing girl. Oh can I call you Ren? I'm going to call you Ren."

"Rena would be better…"

It was a quiet outburst but he still heard her, "Rena it is!"

Pepper's mouth fell partially open and she took a step closer, "Oh you're the one…" she held out her hand and smiled, "nice to meet you."

She slowly rose to meet her gaze, and she smiled back, "You as well."

"Alright!" Tony yelled suddenly, "Let's get this party started! You're old enough to drink right?"

Rena giggled despite herself and allowed the eccentric man to pull her towards the bar.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, so I bumped up the rating to M. I realized that further down the road that this story get's real intense. Loki will be as dark and brooding as ever, and their love with be blacker than the night. It might go back to T since their really won't be much for some time, but god knows. But come on, you guys can handle it. I'll leave warnings in big bold letters for anyone who may get offended at the odd scenes that will unfold. Assuming I get that far.**

* * *

 **3**

"The distress beacon is coming from Northwest of here. It's not a good sign either, the helicopter was destroyed not twenty minutes ago and I need one of you to go and retrieve any evidence tracing back to S.H.E.L.D before the police get there. For now, they're being distracted, but we don't have much time."

"Sir, this is the same helicopter that Agent West was on, is it not?"

Fury clasped his hands behind his back, "Yes Agent Hill. And I don't think anyone survived. My only guess is that they had one Renaissance Stripe in tow. How they crashed is beyond me, but if she caused it, then I would feel better if went sent you in Rogers."

Steve looked from spot at the table. He tried his best not to bite his lip at the sudden and awkward attention, "Yes sir," he said simply, "Where am I headed?"

"Kingston, Canada. Right on the border. Look for any survivors, one in particular. If she is a threat then I want you to incapacitate her immediately. Don't worry about killing a potential ally, as it appears as if she cannot die."

Rogers nodded, "Right sir. You informed us of the girl yesterday. When shall I depart?"

"Right now. There's a jet prepared up top. You know what to do."

Steve Rogers nodded his head before standing and making his way to the roof. There, a sleek SR-71 Blackbird was waiting for him, now enhanced with the power of invisibility.

He was a little surprised to be flying it solo, but he would rather be doing that then idly sitting about. The machine hummed and roared to life when he started up the engine. He strapped in and waited for the clear for takeoff sign. When he got in, he zoomed into the air as if were a pebble in a slingshot.

He flipped some switches and the outer panels began turning, reflecting the light around him to make him appear invisible to the human eye. It was nighttime out, but the lights on the side of the plane were still fully visible. Besides, he had more fun knowing that nobody could see him. It was the one piece of technology that truly impressed him, plus it was the only one that was fun to play with.

The ride was quiet as it was just him, and that gave him plenty of time to think.

He tried his best _not_ to think about possibly going into battle with an un-killable super soldier like himself. It's not like he was afraid, he just felt like Fury was making a huge mistake bringing this girl in.

Well, he didn't think her un-killable considering her first death had been nothing but an accident, but what if she was much stronger now?

For example, what if Renaissance was unstable? What if she had caused the helicopter to crash on purpose? Or worse, on _accident?_

There were too many unanswered questions, and he stopped himself before he got too worked up. There was no use trying to solve a mystery that hadn't even come to light yet.

The jet's internal GPS started beeping as he got within a mile radius of his destination. To avoid looking too suspicious he landed behind a lining of trees and 'parked' for lack of a better word.

Steve made his way to the streets. He looked around and wasn't all that surprised to find them pretty much empty at this time of night, but that was good, it meant that if the girl was around then there was no way she could escape into a crowd of people.

He pulled out a tracking device and once he got his sense of direction quickly put it back into his pocket.

He began walking towards the crash, allowing his mind to scatter and simply allow himself to enjoy the cool night air, when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He whipped around and came face to face with a short girl with wildly tangled hair and big dark brown, almost black, eyes.

There were bits of sand and dirt obscuring her otherwise pale skin. She looked like a wreck, or like she had just crawled out of one

"Where am I?" she asked frantically. Her eyes searched him for help and his response to a hapless women was automatic.

"Kingston, Canada," he said while keeping his gaze on her. He could tell immediately that his had to have been the girl they were looking for. Not only was she the only other person around at this time, which also happened to be the time of the crash, but she was wearing a standard male S.H.E.L.D uniform.

At first he couldn't fathom as to why she was wearing the uniform, but taking another look at her the only conclusion he could come to was that when the helicopter crashed her body, along with her clothing, had not been as fireproof as the uniforms.

The clothes hung off her loosely and were rather unflattering, but one glance at the look of desperation in her eyes and he knew there was no way she had caused the helicopter to crash.

She told him about Stark tower and he wondered how she could've known about Stark coming from her background. He had no idea why she wanted to get there, but before he knew it he was telling her that she was in the wrong place.

Fury had told him to collect evidence and to capture any hostiles. While the girl could've been both, he found that it might be fun to sit back and watch the chaos happen for once. It was a startling thought for him, and he didn't know why he wanted to let things "go with the flow" for once, because for him the flow was usually in the opposite direction of the way he was going. There was a voice telling him to stop her, to take her in, but when he looked at her his mind fogged up. It was as if she had taken control of him and was making him think that he could trust her.

He had a vague sense that she wasn't doing it on purpose, but now he wasn't sure if those were really his thoughts anymore.

Before she left he gave sure to give her some money. If she was traveling all the way to Tony, then she would need it.

He watched her go for a moment, when she was out of sight it was if his mind had suddenly cleared. He should've stopped her, he should've gone after her, but why did his feet remain rooted in place? His only guess was that whatever she had done to him was something powerful and beyond his control. He kept his senses on high alert in case another attacker popped up out of nowhere.

When nothing happened and his legs were listening to him again, he turned back towards the main road and made a sharp left into a line of trees. On the shoreline of the lake was the broken whirlybird and there embedded in the sand were gently smoking piles of still fresh ash.

He stepped his way around a particularly lively one and headed towards where the main wreckage appeared to be. The lake had washed up most of the debris, including the passengers and cargo.

Steve spotted a particular shade of uniform and he took a step away from the body as if would spring back to life at any moment. He knew the Hydra agent was dead, but this was a drastic change if Hydra was after the girl too. He shouldn't have let her go. He should've escorted her safely back to headquarters and come back later.

He felt split between running back to find the girl, and between staying and cleaning this mess up. He would have to hide the bodies in the lake and crush up the bits of plane that had been washed ashore. Even with his superhuman strength that would still take about two hours.

He knew the more he debated the more he would be wasting time trying to find her, so he just put his foot down and decided that cleaning up was more important than her. For now.

Whatever she had done, whatever kind of magic or spell she had used on him, it had convinced him to let her go. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, it probably wasn't, but from the look in her eye he didn't think it was intentional, and now that his head was clear he knew those thoughts had been his. Now if that was some type of automatic self-defense mechanism, he didn't really want to find out what she could do on her own.

It seemed as though she had a solid goal in mind, so he just had to hope that Stark would be able to handle her.

While he was lost in thought and mindlessly moving some of the wreckage into the lake, he spotted a deflated and torn duffel bag under one of the bodies. It was still damp from the water and inside he found a still soaked sweatshirt, some scraps of paper that had been destroyed, and a box.

It looked like a wedding ring box and when he opened it he was correct when he saw the large band. The box was already beginning to take on a mildew scent due to the outer texture, but the inside was relatively okay. The item looked expensive, and he assumed it was either her most prized family possession, or she stole it.

And he highly doubted it was the latter.

He pocketed the ring in hopes of being able to return it later and continued clean up duty.

* * *

In the deepest, darkest parts of the Asgardian dungeon, Loki sat with a small smirk on his shadowed face.

It was almost time for him to be free once more.

The Chitauri were coming for him because, true to their word, they would find him no matter how small the hole he had crawled into or how deep the crevice.

He had first been contacted telepathically. He had been cursed at and spat on, but Loki only responded with a smug look on his face. They could kill him over their mental connection, but they both knew that Thanos wanted to kill him slowly and intimately, and _in person_. He wanted to make it personal for all that Loki had lost after their deal.

At first they hadn't believed him when he said he meant to be captured, but when he mentioned the newest infinity stone, the Chitauri quieted and waited silently for his next words. They were weary of this plan, claiming that he had failed to keep the tesseract and the first stone within his sceptre, but he confidently countered with his own argument.

Thanos, at first, was unwilling to release him. Saying that he had the infinity gauntlet and that they didn't need him to find the others. That he could take what he wished when he wished with the gauntlet and that the only reason he was still alive was because he couldn't yet infiltrate Asgard to kill him himself.

But Loki remained confident. He told him that it started with him being moved to another cell.

He made sure that the moment he touched down in Asgard to send out his magic to reach all corners of the castle. Magic in such small amounts that it would be impossible to detect. Even by Heimdall. It was such a masterful trick, that he even impressed himself.

With this, he would be able to have eyes and ears all over. If he used this power in small amounts no one would detect it and become suspicious.

He told the Mad Titan that he would be able to retrieve the infinity stone of reality if he helped released him. By using it, he would be able to break open the Bifrost to all of the nine realms and his army of Chitauri would be free to tear apart the universe whenever and wherever they wished as they searched for the others.

All he wanted was Midgard.

He had unfinished business there, but apparently so did Thanos. They argued for a while about who should own the Earth and why, and Loki's defense was that Thanos could own all the other realms so long as he had just one corner to himself.

Neither of them could fathom as to why the other wanted Midgard so badly, but they each had their own reasons. For Thanos, it was because he wanted the humans under control. His control. He wanted them to fear him and fight him and he would take immense satisfaction in squashing out each and every one of their hopeful little lights.

Loki on the other hand had made it personal. After his fight with the Avengers he decided that he would take great pleasure in taking their world right from under their grip and reigning chaos upon it. Oh how Thor would suffer seeing the women he had claimed being tortured and being able to do nothing about it.

It was a wondrous thought. And what would he do? Nothing, because the oaf was still filled with fond memories of their childhood. He still clung to the idea that Loki could be good again, but until that sentiment wore out, he would never truly defeat him.

Aside from all of that, Thanos first decided that he wanted the full plan before he even remotely agreed to lend him his army once more.

It was as simple as one, two, and three. Step one, wait for Loki to be transferred which was three days from now. Step two, the cell he was being taken to was across their castle and they would have to pass many rooms to get there. One of the rooms was where Odin seems to keep all of his toys, and while his magic may be week due to the barriers, once he left them he could safely conjure the most simple of things, a double.

He would let the guards think that the real him was actually the fake and since every Asgardian seems to fall for that trick he would be able to get away in the confusion.

And finally step three, take the stone for himself and release the Chitauri.

Thanos was still unconvinced as he had lent him the first one, and it was obvious that he wasn't thrilled that he had lost it, but Loki remained calm.

He let Thanos mull over this plan for a bit, and eventually he decided that he would wait and see it through. If Loki succeeded, then the deal was back on. If not, then he would find his way to him and kill him. Simple as that.


	4. Chapter 4

**I just wanted to thank everyone for all the favs and follows! Enjoy, I hope y'all are enjoying this story.**

* * *

 **4**

When Rena woke her head was pounding once more. She opened her eyes and for a moment thought herself blind, but in reality she was just so hungover that the walls were still spinning. She sat up and gazed around the room she was in.

It appeared as if she had fallen face first onto a massive bed and hadn't even bothered to remove her clothes. God, she couldn't remember the last time she had gotten drunk like that. Or rather, _any_ time she had gotten drunk like that. She was twenty-two and at her age she should've been in college, studying and having fun and having the occasional drink or two at parties.

Instead though she worked three jobs as her mother was mentally unable due to her severe schizophrenia. Rena often tried to make things easier for her since the doctors said that some of her other personalities had stemmed from her sudden onset of depression.

No one was entirely sure why she had suddenly changed, but it was what caused their slow financial downfall. Her mother's pills usually helped, but they were expensive without the help of their mediocre insurance. They'd had to cut corners and get the cheapest one they could afford, but unfortunately there were a lot of thing it didn't cover. On top of that, sometimes the pills didn't always suppress her other sides.

Her father worked two jobs to try his best to help, but between the two of them along with the two ill women in their house, the other being her ailing grandmother, it was almost impossible to keep up. Her siblings weren't nearly old enough to work, and as young children they were often the most spoiled.

Rena didn't mind giving them all that they had asked for, but in her current position she couldn't help but feel a little bit peeved.

Rena tried to sit up, but her head hurt too much. She felt a wave of irritation, mostly at herself, that here she was partying it up while her family still suffered. What if those Hydra guys had gotten to them too? What if her family was dead? Or if…

"Rise and shine sweetheart," a voice that was way too loud came bursting through her door. Her train of thought was lost as Tony tried to push her out of the bed but all she felt was pain. She tried to hide herself with the pillow but it offered little assistance.

"Stop please," she pleaded from under the pillow, her voice muffled.

"Ah c'mon. You had like, five drinks. You can't be that bad."

"That whiskey was strong," she defended before finally being thrown off the bed, "ow. And you drank way more than me, how are you fine?"

Tony made a bizarre noise with his throat that sounded like a hum as he tried to explain, "It's a weird little thing called tolerance. And who said I wasn't hungover? Seriously though get out of that bed missy, you have a date with destiny and it will not be fun since Fury will be the waiter. I suggest you clean up and get un-hungover before we're both hung by our throats for being late."

"What time is it?" she complained.

"Nine, and I have no idea how long you're going to take with all of your frou-frou girly stuff."

Rena let out a snort, "I am so not frou-frou."

Tony laughed, "Alright, alright…"

Tony grabbed her by the arm and hefted her onto her feet. Rena growled and opened her right eye just a crack to give him the evil eye, "How did you even get me drunk anyway?" she was mostly asking herself, but Tony answered anyway.

"Oh it wasn't hard. Feel free to blame me all you want, but drunk you was _quite_ entertaining and I will definitely be getting you drunk again in the near future."

She found herself being pushed into a bathroom. The door shut firmly and now that it was quiet she could properly get a good look at her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was how the freaking bathtub was larger than her entire room back home. Wasn't this the guest bathroom too?

She contemplated on taking a long leisurely soak, but she knew she didn't really have the time for that. Instead she went over to the shower on the other side which, while still impressively large, was dwarfed when compared to the size of the tub.

Turning on the hot water she stepped in after it started steaming. Her muscles immediately began to relax and some of the pain and tension from the past few days began to melt away. From being exploded to the sudden hiking expedition to her hangover, her body let the water soothe it. It's been a long time since she'd had a proper shower like this. Back home, usually the clean water was reserved for drinking and making soups.

They had running water, but barely. In fact, she wondered what she must have smelt like when she arrived last night, with drunk breath on top of that. Despite her sudden embarrassment though she felt a sudden bout of nausea at the fact that here she was, in the lap of luxury, while her family struggled.

It suddenly became very real to her that it had been four days since she had gotten any kind of word out to them. Stepping into the helicopter that night she had kind of figured that she would have to cut most ties with them, but she thought that she'd at least be able to say one final goodbye over the phone.

Her chest hurt at the thought of never seeing the ones she grew up with, of suddenly losing the ones you had fought so hard to keep alive. It was like torture and she almost couldn't bare it. She let out a choked sob and her tears mingled with the water for a bit.

She allowed herself a moment of respite before pulling herself back together. She had to focus for now. She had to get to this S.H.E.L.D place, meet the director, and then _maybe_ she would get to talk with her family.

For now she would have to take in a deep breath and hope she could hold it long enough to get through all of this.

Rena let all of her worries fade into the background of her mind for a moment as new issues took precedence. As she massaged her head with some shampoo her brain provided her with brief flashbacks of last night.

 _"You're old enough to drink right?"_

 _Rena giggled, "Well I am twenty-two…"_

 _"Perfect! We'll knock that shy girl right outta' you. Pepper, c'mon join the party!"_

 _Pepper put her hands on slender hips but she was smiling. She walked over to the bar much slower than the two of them and slowly slid onto one of the leather stools, "Tony, is this really a good idea? You know you have to take her in tomorrow."_

 _"Were you tapping my calls again?"_

 _"No, J.A.R.V.I.S told me that you called Fury."_

 _There was a beeping noise from above them, "Sorry Sir. But I cannot deny Pepper of what she asks."_

 _Tony rolled his eyes, "Yeah. You and me both. Wait, so you knew this was her?"_

 _"Again no, but after you told me who she was, and the fact that you called your director, it really wasn't that hard to figure out."_

 _Tony smirked and began pulling out some glasses, "That's my girl. Anyway what do you prefer oh medieval one? Scotch or whiskey?"_

 _Rena raised an eyebrow, "What's the difference?"_

 _Tony raised an eyebrow at her and put a hand to his chest as if had been heavily offended, which with her lack of intelligence for the finer things in life, she probably had._

 _He swirled both the drinks in the bottles, "Uh geography, of course. Also one is way more expensive due to the import tax but that's not important. Here, have the cheap stuff."_

 _He poured her a glass, filling it higher than was necessary, and putting the glass stopper back on. Rena took a sip and was immediately hit by how strong it was, "And how much was this then, Mr. Billionaire?"_

 _"Oh, somewhere around twenty thousand."_

 _Rena almost spit the drink out, but at the last minute decided that spewing a thousand dollars' worth of whiskey on the counter was not a good idea. Instead she swallowed it quickly and screamed, "What?!"_

 _Tony just laughed, "Oh that's nothing. Check this out!"_

 _Pepper rolled her eyes from her right, "Oh boy. He has to show you all of his cool things now."_

 _From under the counter she heard Tony let loose a dignified grunt, "I don't get to show many people and you're bored of my things. Anyway here it is. It's even got my name on it, this is like seven million or something. Can't remember. I think it's gotten even pricier too."_

 _Tony held up an intricate, diamond encrusted bottle and smiled triumphantly. Rena stared at it for a good minute, taking in the fact that the bottle before her was worth more than anyone in her entire, extended included, family combined._

 _Then she started laughing. It was a gentle giggle at first, and neither of her two party members knew what was so funny. Her laughter quickly turned from funny to sour though and she was laughing unnaturally hard, as if she had suddenly just snapped._

 _There was an uncomfortable silence of Rena just laughing before Pepper spoke up, "Rena?" she said, voice full of unease._

 _"It's just," she said between snorts, "_ **so** _funny to me… that I've lived most of my entire life on the streets, begging and scraping for food and money… and then there are people like you who can buy a single item that would break the bank! It's just so funny!"_

 _Tony, for once in his life, fell silent as the realization of their two worlds fell into play. Normally he tried not to think of things like that, because in his world all that existed was him, his tower, and Pepper. Nowadays the Avengers too, but no one else._

 _Instead of trying to console her though he just refilled her glass, "Here," he said, trying to put on his happy face again, "Drink. You'll feel better later. It makes all the shit seem… slightly less shitty."_

 _Rena didn't argue._

When her sober memories hit her she leaned against the cool tile of the bathroom before shutting off the water. Having remembered all of that she, firstly, wished she hadn't. And secondly, was emotionally drained because of it.

She needed to press on though. Last night was a moment of weakness that she wasn't going to let herself show again. Rena tried her best to search her memories for anything else, but all that came up was the faint sound of laughter. She had gotten _way_ too drunk last night.

When she was finally ready, even though her hair was still dripping wet, she exited the bathroom. On the bed, she found a set of fresh clothes. When she put them on they were a size too big but they would fit well enough for the day. The top was a loose maroon blouse with long sheer sleeves and came with pair of white pants.

For some reason, she felt so privileged putting these clothes on, but boy did they feel good compared to her normal sweatshirt or that uniform from yesterday. Rena looked at herself in a standing vanity mirror and admired how her hair fell straight since it was brushed for once. She took note in how her skin was clean and slightly red from the scrub, and also how pale she was sheesh.

When she was satisfied in gawking at herself, Rena made her way to the kitchen. There she found Tony sitting at a table in the kitchen and he was sipping a cup of coffee while reading something off of a floating see-through screen.

Rena was fascinated by this and as natural instinct goes, she had to go over and touch it. When she did she not only surprised Tony, but also minimized the file he was reading because she didn't know it was touchable.

"Woah! Morning, and don't touch that." He pulled the screen back up, "We should probably get out of here soon anyway. It's almost eleven."

"On time for once huh?" Rena turned towards Pepper as she walked in.

Tony winked at her, "Just this once. So Rena can make a good impression. Oh here," Tony reached across the table and picked up a ceramic jar. He popped off the lid and held it out to her and inside it was filled with hundreds of little white pills.

Her headache returned tenfold now that she was conscious of it again and she took two of the pills gratefully. Tony took one last sip of his coffee before slamming the mug down and standing. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the time and quickly ushered Rena out the door.

"To victory!" he shouted as they rode the elevator all the way down.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

Rena was more nervous than she thought she would be. Tony had thrown her into a bright red sports car with gold trimmings and told her to buckle up. He took off so quickly that she didn't even have time to process that she was going to be meeting people who probably already had high expectations of her.

She tried her best not to hyperventilate but by the time they got there worry had set in and she had bitten off most of her right thumbnail. She immediately regretted doing that because now she probably looked like even more of a hobo then she already was.

Even though she had showered and gotten all dolled up, she could still feel the years of muck and grime down to her core. She still felt the Chicago air in her lungs and taste the stale bread on her tongue despite how many times she brushed it this morning.

She supposed that some things never changed, and that she may feel like a street rat no matter what. Maybe the feeling would fade over time, but then again maybe not. Her lifestyle had defined her through and through, she may not ever get used to luxuries like a full working bathroom.

Tony suddenly patted her on the shoulder roughly, "Aw don't be nervous. As adorable as it is you need to be strong. Fury's not so bad if you push his buttons just right."

He then got out of the car and Rena followed not a moment after. Tony led her into a normal looking skyscraper and took her straight to an elevator. Instead of pressing any buttons though he just started speaking when the doors shut.

"Agent A2, plus one. Codename: Iron Man. Eighth floor."

A noise of recognition sounded overhead, _"Agent confirmed. Welcome Tony Stark and guest to S.H.E.L.D headquarters."_

Instead of going upwards as she had been expecting, the elevator lurched downwards and took them deep into the Earth. There was nothing to look at but the metal elevator door, but she did make note that which each floor they passed the temperature dropped just a few degrees more.

When they finally reached their destination, on the other side of the door stood a women in a deep navy uniform with her hands hanging stiffly at her side. She had a sharp gaze directed towards them and for the briefest of moments she appeared surprised.

"Stark. I'm surprised you're here on time."

Tony shrugged, "What can I say. You guys are really growing on me to be a model citizen."

The women smiled sarcastically and turned towards her, "I am Agent Maria Hill. Director Fury is waiting for you in his office. If you will kindly follow me I shall escort you to him."

Agent Hill turned before Rena could respond and she began walking away. She wasn't much taller than Rena, but she walked twice as fast. Rena was practically running as she tried to keep up and was partially out of breath by the time they arrived.

The agent turned sharply and Rena panicked and forced herself to stand at full attention. Maria opened the door and said, "Director Fury, Miss Stripe has arrived. Tony is here as well, would you like him to join?"

"Stark you can come in. Renaissance, welcome to S.H.E.L.D headquarters. Have a seat."

Rena walked in awkwardly, her shoulders hunched and her breathing still heavier than normal, but she sat down and remained quiet. The door behind her shut quietly and when she turned around she saw Maria standing idly in the corner.

Tony quickly broke the silence, "Hey so… you got any water? I'm a little parched. Took a lot to get me here on time."

The room was well lit, but the standing Director hadn't turned to face them until now. When she had talked to him last night, he had looked scary, but he wasn't as nearly terrifying as he was currently as he glared harshly at Tony.

"Mr. Stark sit down," he said. It wasn't a request. "Now, Miss Stripe, let's not beat around the bush. Tell me exactly what happened on the night of the helicopter crash. I had sent another agent out there to find you and clean up the wreckage, but he said he never saw you. He told me he saw the dead bodies of the Hydra members, but other than that there was nothing worth noting."

Rena wrung her hands together nervously. She didn't know why she was so nervous. It just felt natural in this situation she supposed. Meeting Director Fury in person had made her small little heart beat quickly out of fear and her fight or flight sensors were screaming at her to get the hell out of there.

But she took in a deep breath and shut her eyes.

She would be okay.

"When… Agent West came to pick me up, we took off with no problems. The ride was smooth for at least over half of the ride and I asked him where I was going. He told me here in New York, and then suddenly they were just there. They tore open the door and started firing at will and either knocked the others unconscious or killed them. And then the pilot, I don't know what he did, but suddenly everything locked up and he started flying straight into the ground. He told me to find Tony, and that he could help me, and then the helicopter crashed into the water and then… nothing. Just darkness from there."

Fury gave her a hard look, but he didn't seem angry, he had a look on his face that told her he must have been processing everything she had told him.

"He was a good agent, that pilot. An observational one. No matter, at least you found your way here. Speaking of which, how did you manage that?"

"When I got out of the woods I found someone who set me on the right path, but before we parted ways he gave me some cash and that helped immensely. I rode the train for two days, and then a bus as far I could before walking the last few hours. To be honest my feet are still a little sore…"

Fury turned back around, still standing, and exhaled slowly, "Well welcome aboard. Unfortunately any of your supplies that you brought went down with the crash. You will be living here from now on and I'll give you the rest of this week to get yourself situated. Come Monday you shall begin training with Rogers and Anderson and you will work with Dr. Bruce Banner to help not only you but us as well figure out what makes you tick. Any questions?"

Rena remained silent for a moment, but there was one question that was burning in the back of her mind. She bit her lip but it forced its way out anyway, "Can I let my family know I'm alright? Just one time?"

There was a long stretch of silence, but then Fury turned to look at her. His face was void of emotion and he clasped his hand behind his back, "No. When you left your house that was your chance to say your last goodbye. Now, Maria will take you to your room. Dismissed."

She wanted to say something more, but then Fury turned away from her for the final time and she jumped when Maria spoke up. She had forgotten she was there. She turned towards Tony with a stiff nod, "And you Mr. Stark are dismissed as well. Thank you for bringing Miss Stripe in unharmed."

Tony let out a whine, but with a sharp glare from Maria he went silent, albeit with an annoyed huff. He waved goodbye to her and turned the other way down the corridor. Rena suddenly felt very alone now as she followed Agent Hill.

Her nervousness began to come back and when she arrived at her room she was more than happy to have a space to herself for a time. Before she was free Maria stopped her and gave her a set of directions to the food court upstairs. She said there was an elevator around the corner straight down the hall and that it would be voice operated. The cafeteria was on the third floor and by noon her voice would be recognized in the system as level three clearance.

She asked how, and they said that they had gotten all that they needed from her conversation with Fury. The thought terrified her with all they could do with just her voice, but she tried to remain unfazed on the outside. She didn't bother asking what the difference between level one, two, and three was, but maybe she'd figure it out later.

The agent told her that spare outfits and uniforms have already been prepared though some of the measurements might be off.

Maria then let her know that the one named Rogers would meet her once dinner time rolls around and would give her a tour of the place.

Rena thought that was it, but then she turned around one last time, "Oh, and he says he has something to give you once you two meet. No one's sure what it could possibly be, but he assures us it's important."

Something to give her? Rena quirked her head at that but tried not to think too deeply into it. Maybe it was some kind of welcome to the crew present? Either way, Rena was relieved when the door was shut and she had a sober moment alone to relax and think.

She let herself fall face first onto the bed and was pleased that it was much softer than she had originally thought. Her body sunk into the mattress and pillow and she let all of her worries drift away.

Her mind was somehow able to let go while she snuggled into the sheets. She felt so cozy and at home that she allowed herself, just for a brief moment, to pretend she was. She let herself think that her mother was just downstairs, cooking dinner, while her younger brother and sister read stories to each other and drew on the walls. Of course, her real bed had never been this soft, but she could pretend.

If she concentrated hard enough she could almost hear their laughter. She could almost hear the squeak of the pots against the metal burner as they were moved about. Could almost hear her mother babbling on in French, something about politics.

It was all so blissful. Her memories.

She had no idea how long she was lying there in the warmth and comfort of the bed, but just as she was about to fall into deep sleep a brisk knock on her door startled her.

She bolted upright, completely unaware of how long she had been drifting between conscious memories and sleep. Her hair was scattered across her face and it was sticking up at odd angles. She tried her best to smooth it down before going to the door.

When the door slid open, she looked up into kind eyes, blond hair, and a tall muscular body….

"Wait a minute," she said as realization struck quick as lightning, "you're the man that helped me to Stark Tower a few days ago!"

He smiled and held out his hand, "Steve Rogers. Nice to meet you, formally."

Rena looked down at his hand, and then back up at him, "Renaissance Stripe… you can call me Rena if you want. Oh… Director Fury told me I'd be working with you."

Steve nodded and smiled at her gently. Rena felt a blush creep up her neck before she could stop herself but before she could act on these emotions she cleared her throat and avoided eye contact, "So uh… what brings you here?"

"Dinner. Agent Hill says you haven't left your room since you got here so she suggested I come see if you were asleep or not."

Rena twiddled her thumbs, "I was about to fall asleep… wait what time is it? You said _dinner?"_

"It's almost seven. Dinner will finished being served at eight," Steve turned and motioned for her to follow, "ready?"

She blinked slowly, trying very hard not to blatantly stare at him. As someone who quit school at a relatively young age and was busy with taking care of her family, it was needless to say that she didn't talk to very many boys. Let alone extremely cute ones like Steve.

She hadn't gotten a very good look at him under the flickering street lights the first time they met, and back then she was confused and jarred from dying a second time. Now everything was perfectly calm and the lighting was damn near perfect.

Rena tamped down her feelings quickly, even as they stepped into the elevator together. She couldn't let herself be whisked away by feelings. She couldn't by distracted by boys if she ever wanted to talk to her family again. She should focus on the immediate task at hand.

But wait, Steve _would_ be a task eventually… when they trained.

 _Don't think about that…_ she thought awkwardly while running a hand through her hair.

On the way up Steve didn't even glance her way and she was glad. She searched for something to talk about, perhaps some kind of common ground, when she remembered that he had something to give her.

"Oh," she said when they reached their destination, "I was told you have something to give me?"

Steve turned towards her. He gave her a confused look for half a second then held up his hand as he remembered, "Ah yes! Thank you for reminding me. I wasn't sure if it was yours, but when I was cleaning up the wreckage of the helicopter I found this."

Rena's curiosity turned to shock as he pulled out a green velvet box. She would've recognized that box no matter what. If she was blind she'd feel it. If she was a mile away she'd see it. If she died for real it would be the light at the end of her tunnel. If she had amnesia, it would've be the one thing she remembered over her own name.

Her spirits sunk in embarrassment, how in the holy hell could she have forgotten something so important?

Without a warning to either of them Rena began to weep. Partially out of sadness for forgetting it, and partially out of happiness for it coming back to her. She looked up just in time to see Steve looking shocked and severely confused.

"M-miss Stripe… I apologize, I didn't mean to…" he stammered.

Rena took the box and, since he was much taller than her, jumped to throw her arms around his neck, "Thank you!" she screamed louder than was necessary, "this ring is so, so important to me. In my haste I had completely forgotten about it! I'm so glad you found it thank you Steve!"

He awkwardly patted her back and she finally let go. Her tears stopping as quickly as they had come.

They stood there for a moment and Steve put his hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Rena smiled, "Never better. Come on, let's go eat."


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

Dinner was… awkward to put it simply. There, Rena met two other agents, both of whom were centuries ahead of her in skill and looked as if they would rather be alone. The women, who introduced herself as Natasha Romanoff, seemed friendly at least.

Her scarlet hair curled in ways that Rena always wished hers had, and Rena was no expert but she could easily tell by the way she moved that she must specialize in stealth or something alike. The man sitting on her left on the other hand, Clint, only stared at her coldly. He had dark circles under his eyes but he looked alert and ready for a fight. They had both shaken her hand and Rena sat at the end of the table to try and avoid as much contact as possible.

She felt unwanted and before any of them could say anything to include her into the conversation she stood and quickly went up to order her food. Rena just got a sandwich because she wasn't all that hungry now that her nerves were back. She thought about sitting at the rather inviting empty table across the way, but Steve waved his hand at her.

She internally cursed his good nature and went back to sit with them.

"Sorry, didn't know you were so hungry. Did you find everything okay?"

Rena nodded, keeping her head low and avoiding eye contact, "Yes. Thank you."

She ate her sandwich slowly. It was turkey and cheese and tomato with some sort of spread and it was pretty good, but her mind was too preoccupied to really enjoy the taste. Natasha and Clint carried most of the conversation and Rena was glad. She wasn't sure why, but the not being included made her feel happier. She always enjoyed listening and observing more than anything else.

If her mother was here she'd be smiling and saying said how her daughter had always been a bit of a recluse, it was even worse now because in this situation when she had absolutely no context about these people she felt completely out of place. It was even, _even_ worse since she was eating, she never did do well eating in front of strangers.

Just as things were settling smoothly, she didn't have to talk most importantly, Steve excused himself to grab something to eat before the food court shut down for the evening.

Rena felt herself panicking because his calm and quiet presence had soothed her, and he had been doing most of the talking. It was almost as if he knew how badly she wanted to keep to herself, because she knew that as soon as he left the other two would…

"So, Rena you said right? Are you exited to be working for S.H.E.L.D?"

 _Ask questions…_ she thought bitterly, finishing off her last mental statement.

She looked up and tried to smile, "I… guess. It's different."

Natasha smiled at her warmly with her head in her hand. Rena felt some of the tension from her shoulders fade some and she took another bite out of her sandwich.

"What is it that you do exactly?" Rena was startled when Clint suddenly leaned on the table heavily. He was staring deep into her, as if he were analyzing her very soul. She gulped nervously and tried not to have a mental breakdown.

"I-I uh I…" she stuttered.

Natasha moved ever-so-slightly, and her movement made Clint jump just the tiniest bit. It was hard to tell, but if she had to take a guess it looked like she had just kicked him under the table. Their movements were so slight though that she'd probably never know.

Just then a voice from the heavens saved her, "Rena can't die. At least as far as we know."

Steve threw down a sandwich similar to hers and set a water bottle down in front of her.

She looked at it dumfounded, "Oh. Is this… for me?"

Steve started unwrapping his sandwich, "Yes. I, uh, noticed you didn't have a drink."

Rena felt her body involuntarily shrink into itself, "Thank you," she said quietly. She was thankful when the conversation didn't turn on her again, but Clint continued to talk to Steve about what he meant when she couldn't die.

"Please explain," he stated simply.

Steve then went off on a long, somewhat rant-like, conversation about Rena and she felt like that was a hundred times worse than her being the one to talk. It was weird enough that they were pretending she wasn't there, but on top of that Steve knew way more than she had originally thought.

She went to take another bite out of her sandwich but realized that it was all already gone. She excused herself quietly and halfway to the door Steve called out to her that he still wanted to give her a tour.

Rena politely declined and claimed that she would rather sleep. It wasn't a lie either, right now she would rather be in bed sleeping then trying to memorize all the corridors in this place.

Thankfully, she had paid attention on their way up. She knew she lived on the eighth floor, and that her door was room 813. Her room wasn't too hard to find, but just as she reached her door, which was around the corner, she smacked into someone.

She wobbled a bit and then looked up, embarrassed. She found herself looking at a kind of short guy with shaggy dark brown hair and sad eyes. His eyebrows went up when he saw her, and the act wrinkled his forehead in a way that told her that he made that face often.

"I'm sorry!" Rena said awkwardly.

"Whoa, whoa it's okay," he held up his hands in defense. He had a slight slur in his voice and she wasn't sure if he was just tired or slightly drunk. He offered her a small smile and he avoided eye contact. Rena took comfort in the fact that someone else was as awkward as her around here.

"Sorry," she said again, "I was just in a hurry to get to my room."

"I know how that goes," he said lightheartedly. Rena let out a little giggle as he kept talking, "I wasn't really watching where I was going either."

"Ah, going to sleep too?" Rena bit her lip, not sure why she was bothering to keep this conversation going. It was obvious that they both wanted to be somewhere else. He didn't seem too pressed for time though, plus he was easy to talk to. Steve wasn't that bad, but it was the fact that he was so handsome that got her tongue tied every time.

The man rubbed the back of his head and looked up at the ceiling rather than at her. She was okay with that, "Actually I was just leaving. I don't live here like most agents and I'll be back tomorrow to meet the new girl."

Something clicked in Rena's head from earlier, "Oh, are you by chance Bruce Banner?"

He finally looked at her, "Yeah actually…. Are you Renaissance?"

She smiled, "The one and only. You can call me Rena if you want, everyone else does." Bruce nodded and put his hands on his hips. There was an awkward stretch of silence but somehow the awkwardness worked between them.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow," he said. There was a slight hesitation in his voice, as if he felt bad for saying goodbye.

Rena nodded and remembered that she did, in fact, want to go to sleep sometime this year, "Yeah you too. It was nice meeting you."

They waved goodbye to one another and Rena was finally able to round the corner and get into her room. At first though, she couldn't figure out how to open the door. She tried to think back, and she could vaguely recall Maria typing some numbers into the door. She looked down and sure enough there was a keypad there.

Rena wanted to groan in irritation because she had no idea where Maria was at the moment. How on earth would she get her code now? Out of frustration she kicked the door. She hadn't expected anything to happen, been then there was a beep and a voice command prompt.

 _"Agent Stripe. Please confirm your identity."_

She jumped in surprise, "Um. Agent Stripe," she tried slowly, "reporting for… bed."

A sound of recognition was made, _"Welcome,_ Agent Stripe, _have a lovely evening."_

The voice shut off and the door opened with a soft _whoosh_ of air. She shrugged it off and figured that pretty much everything was voice operated around here.

This time when she fell onto the sheets she wasn't quite as tired as she had been earlier. Since she had taken somewhat of a decent nap before. She didn't want to be tired for tomorrow, but she didn't know how to put herself to sleep.

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the plain white ceiling. She reached into her pocket and felt around until her fingers landed on the soft velvet of the little ring box. She still couldn't believe that this little thing hadn't even come to her mind. Sure she had been travelling around New York for the past couple of days, but it should've been the first thing she thought of when she woke up.

She couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't.

Rena opened the box and was relieved that the ring was actually in there. It hadn't occurred to her that there was a chance that it could have fallen out. It had been a long time that she had actually looked at the ring.

She took it out and slipped it onto her left ring finger. It fit well without having to be resized. It was almost too big, but it wasn't so noticeable that it would fly off if she shook her hand.

The ring itself was quite stunning, and she hoped to one day wear this ring as someone's wife. It was a beautiful engagement ring. The large square green emerald in the middle was accompanied by two smaller diamonds on each side. The band was covered in glittering white diamonds all around, but the original gold wedding band had been buried long ago with her great grandmother.

Still, it was a marvelous ring, and she held it tight to her chest in memory of when her mother first gave it to her.

She was twelve when she had received the gift. She had wandered into her mother's room when she had reached what the other children called 'Adulthood' which in actuality just meant she hit puberty, and needed some help on deciding what was more comfortable to wear during that time of the month.

When she walked in her mom was sitting outside on her little deck. This was all before she had lost herself. Back then, things had been simpler. Her mom had been knitting a long scarf that was gradually turning into a blanket with each stich she made.

She had been wearing a ring that Rena had never seen before and when she walked up she couldn't contain her curiosity, "What's that mom?" she had asked.

Her mom, startled, looked up, "Oh honey. Didn't hear you," she smiled and looked down at the ring, "this belonged to my grandmother. Your great grandmother. It was her engagement ring. Here."

She removed the ring and handed it to her. Rena stared at it in wonder. The ring had been just as beautiful then as it was now.

"What were they like?" she asked, meaning her grandparents. She had never met her great grandparents. She'd hadn't even heard about them until then, and it wasn't until Rena was older and her grandmother on her mother's side had passed away that learned that she had Alzheimer's and was living in a home.

She still had that perfect image though of her mother leaning back into the chair and looking dreamily off into the sunset as she answered her, "Oh… he was good man. A kind and gentle one who will forever be missed. If you'd like, I can show you a photo of him."

Rena's great grandfather was sitting in a wooden chair for the photo, but he appeared to be tall. He looked like he would tower over his wife had he chosen to stand. She wondered where all of those tall genes had gone because she herself stood at less than average height.

Even though the image was washed in a dark sepia and had been frayed over the years at the edges, they still appeared old in that photo. Light hair that had probably turned grey and in the chair the husband was slightly hunched. Wrinkles and freckles adorned their faces and his wife was standing and had her hands placed gently on his shoulders. They both smiled in that sweet way that only old people could do.

The ring had been rather pricey back in those days, and it's only gotten more valuable since. After her siblings had been born was when her mother's mind slowly began to wither away, but she always made it clear to never sell that ring.

She had kept her promise to keep it safe, for it to be the first thing that she grabs if she ever had to suddenly leave, and she was grateful that she had kept her quiet promise after these years. She continued looking at the ring and on the inside was a small bird engraved into the base. Its wings were spread wide and on its chest was a tiny heart.

Rena laid her head back onto the pillow, and gradually fell asleep with that last image floating around in her head.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all the favs and follows! Reviews are welcome too!**

* * *

 **7**

The morning had come too quickly in the time that it had taken for her to fall into a deep and comfortable sleep. Her rude awakening started with a loud and annoying beep. Then it continued with a robotic voice telling her that Director Fury was waiting for her. Where, she didn't know because the voice didn't tell her.

She waved at the ceiling, trying to shut it off, and eventually she figured the only way to shut it off was to actually speak, "I'm up. God, I'm up. Please stop beeping. Where am I meeting the Director?"

 _"In lab 771,"_ the voice replied cheerfully, _"He will be meeting you in promptly one hour."_

"Did he set the alarm too?" she groaned, not expecting an answer.

 _"Indeed he did Miss Stripe."_

Rena inhaled and slowly opened her eyes. The lights weren't on, but somehow the room seemed lit as if natural sunlight had been streaming through. She rolled to her side and went to rub her face with the back of her hand only to be stabbed by the ring she had forgotten on her finger.

"Ow," her eyes opened wide and she used her other hand to try and soothe the sudden pain. Rena swung her legs over the bed and sat up, feeling the blood rushing to her head and making her dizzy. She sighed, this is what she gets for sitting up too quickly.

Rena glanced at the digital clock on the side of her bed. Its large red numbers read 8:01 and she knew she didn't have much time if she had no idea where this room was. She was already bad with directions, so she had no doubt in her mind that she would get lost on the way there. And this was just a freaking building, just one building and she couldn't even manage her way around that. Albeit it was a large one to have at least eight floors, but still. She hoped there would be a directory somewhere.

She debated on whether or not she had enough time to take a shower and decided that it would probably be worth it in the end. She stepped into the hot stream and was glad that it was hot because for some reason she was under the impression that it would be cold or lukewarm no matter which way you turned the knob. Luckily for her anxiety this place didn't seem nearly as much of a prison as she thought it was upon arrival.

The hour was going by much slower than she had anticipated. When she had gotten out of the shower she found that she had only been in there for a mere twelve minutes. She took her time drying her hair and smoothing down the slightly loose uniform she had been given.

It was similar to the male uniform in comfortability and material, but it was tighter around the waist and was jet black instead of navy. Most of the outfit was made out of some kind of mesh, but on the important parts like the elbows and the shoulders and knees, it was made of a tough leather.

The outfit came with a pair of combat boots and a belt with a holster for a gun. On her right bicep was what she assumed was the S.H.E.L.D logo. She found that the outfit was similar to Agent Romanoff's.

Yesterday she had spent all day wearing the clothes Tony had lent her, and she wasn't sure if she should return them or not. For now, she decided to put them away in the drawers with the rest of her clothes. She noticed that aside from the five sets of uniforms, all slightly different in colors and patterns, she found a couple of pairs of plain white tanks and workout shorts.

Rena had some time to kill and she thought about just hanging out on the bed and take a few moments to wake up, but it would probably be best if she found her way to "Lab 771" as quickly as possible.

Upon exiting her room, she turned the corner and was already lost. She knew that the elevator was at the end of the hall, but which hall was it again? Now that she was actually trying to pay attention and not flying blindly through the halls she found it ironic that she had no clue where anything was.

Thankfully she saw a couple of agents rushing past her. She followed them, trying to be as discreet as possible, and was glad to see that they were all boarding the elevator. She was about to hop on but decided last minute that she'd rather ride alone.

She knew she could've asked for help, in fact she should've gotten in with the others and done so, but it had already been crowded and she didn't want to impose or cause a scene. She was already uncomfortable at the thought of stopping someone, because surely she was going to have to, so she wanted to keep her embarrassment to a minimum.

She rang for the next ride up and the disembodied elevator voice, which kind of creeped her out to be honest, asked her destination. Since the room was 771, she assumed that it would be the seventh floor since her bedroom was numbered 813 and she was on the eighth floor. There were buttons lit up against the wall and she pressed S7 as she was on floor S8. If that didn't work then she'd try the floor above ground.

As she started up she noticed how there was no music on the elevator, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Sure elevator music wasn't the best, but it was a lot more comfortable than ninety percent silence and the whirring of gears. At this realization she was glad to have chosen to go alone. Sitting in silence with a bunch of strangers would've been ten times worse.

She went to scratch her hand unconciously, and her fingertip brushed something solid. She looked down and realized that she still had the ring on. In her haste she had forgotten to remove it in the shower.

She felt like she shouldn't be wearing it, and yet she couldn't quite bring herself to take it off, not after she had already lost it once. It was too precious to her. Then again she could lose it on the field, assuming she goes "on the field." What if she got killed in another fiery explosion and the ring melts into an unrecognizable blob of metal? That last thought shook her emotions to their core and she decided that as soon as she got back to her room she'd take it off.

She shook her mind clear of the ring now that her mind had settled and for the remainder of the ride she thought about just how large this facility was. There were at least eight floors, that much was obvious, but how many rooms on each? A hundred? Two hundred? Three hundred? How many miles did this place stretch on for?

When the elevator dinged she stepped off feeling more confused than ever. She took in a deep breath and focused on where she needed to go. A couple of feet down the hall she was pleasantly surprised to see signs on the walls as if this were a college campus.

 _Rooms B700-B750 and accounting_ were to the left, and _rooms B751-B799_ were to her right. However lab 771, was apparently on neither one. She didn't know if there was a difference between room B771 and lab 771, but she decided that for now that they would be the same. She took the right hallway and was surprised at how long it stretched on.

Room B771 was on the left side and when she peeked in she saw that the room was dark and empty. There were a couple of more rooms, all strangely void of life, and at the end there was another sign that lead her in even more directions.

She let out a sigh and just kept walking. None of the signs led her to the desired room so she finally broke down and went in search of someone. She found a lone agent rushing down one of the halls and stopped her.

The women looked distraught and like she didn't want to be bothered, but Rena had places to go too. She found her nerve and asked her where the lab was.

"Lab 771?" the women said with a slight Russian accent, "its two floors above. All labs and offices are on floor five."

Rena thanked her silently and tried to make her way back to the elevator. Of course she was on the wrong floor, how embarrassing. Maybe she should've let Steve take her on that tour after all.

On the fifth floor she did as she had before and followed the signs. The room was, thankfully, easy to find and when she walked through the automatic doors she was nearly overwhelmed by all the noises she was greeted with. There were beeps and whirs and blips all going off at the same time by various pieces of machinery. Standing in the center of the noise was none other than Mr. Banner, the guy she ran into the other day. She was glad to see a familiar face.

She smiled at him and he smiled back. She was suddenly incredibly relieved to have met him on her own time because with the noises going on around her and with the Director, who she had momentarily forgotten was there, staring her down menacingly.

"Agent Stripe, glad to see you made it on time," his booming voice made her visibly shake and she tried her best not to run away or hide. He gestured towards Bruce, "Banner tells me you two already met so I'll skip the introductions. For however long you remain with S.H.E.L.D Dr. Banner will be your regular doctor. You will meet him once a week for checkups and 'experiments' within your limits, however we do expect that you give us all that you've got to offer. For now, get comfortable with each other. Tomorrow I'll have you meet with Rogers to go over your training regimen."

The Director nodded in both of their directions before stomping out the door. Rena felt some of the tension flow from her shoulders but she still felt apprehensive about being alone with Bruce. He seemed like a nice guy though, so she'd try her best to be friends with him.

She turned towards him and the Doc put his clipboard onto a metal topped island in the middle of the room. He gestured towards a chair that was similar to the ones you see in a normal doctor's office, except this one didn't have any tissue covering it and it was much lower to the ground.

"So, Rena…" Bruce said slowly, "Do you have a favorite color?" the question was slow and awkward, but she appreciated him trying to break the ice.

She smiled, "Yeah, I like a deep emerald green. You?"

He pulled at the collar of his polo under his white lab coat, "I'm a fan of purple myself. So uh, tell me about yourself then. What's it like to uh… not be… dead?"

She could feel her smile fading. In a way, she liked that he was getting straight to the point, because she know S.H.E.L.D wanted to know what the heck was going on with her just as much as she did, but she honestly didn't know what or how to feel about her situation.

In fact, it almost felt… _natural._ It was as if this was how it was supposed to be for her, like she was supposed to die but somehow always survive and out-live those around her. It was a disturbing feeling and it sent a visible shiver down her spine. Bruce noticed her reaction and she told him what she was thinking.

"Hmm," he said. He put his hand on his chin and rocked back and forth on his feet in thought. She was glad that he didn't pick up his clipboard to start writing things down. That probably would've just made her feel less like his friend and more like the patient she was supposed to be.

"It's strange," she said, mostly to herself, "when the pilot crashed the helicopter he seemed so sure. It was like he had no doubt in his mind that crashing was his only option. I was definitely scared, but in that moment of impact, that split second before my soul was ripped from my body, I felt nothing but pain. It was a devastating, burning pain that made me feel like I was no longer _anything._ That I was just a feeling, forever being that horrible ache, but then it stopped just as quickly as it came…"

Rena heard the ruffling of clothes and looked up to see Bruce sitting down and crossing his legs.

"So it's a natural feeling you think?"

She shrugged, "You could say that. It feels normal to my body, but not to my mind."

He nodded, "Well... I can tell this is getting uncomfortable, so let's talk about something that makes you happy. What do you like besides the color green?"

Rena bit her lip and took a moment to think. There was really only one thing that made her happy, and that had been ripped out of her life for possibly forever. The memories still made her smile though, so she chose to talk about that instead.

"My family. I have two younger siblings, my mother, my father, and my grandmother…"

She was going to say more when Dr. Banner held up his hand, "Oh that reminds me. Your family is completely safe."

Rena felt her heart swell with joy, "Really?" her voice was barely above a whisper, "How do you know? Who told you?"

He nodded, "Yes. A team of investigators relocated them somewhere safe and under our radar. They're still in Chicago at the moment but they can live much more comfortably now until we can move them somewhere more remote. Unfortunately you won't be able to contact them anytime soon. They're already more involved with S.H.E.L.D than necessary, but if we keep other connections limited then there's no reason for anyone to go after them."

Rena clutched her hands to her heart and felt far more relieved than she thought she ever would have, "That's fantastic news."

"Yeah. Fury told me to pass on the news while you were here. I'm… sorry that you got pulled away from them so quickly but it was probably for the better after everyone discovered your powers."

Rena leaned back a little, setting her hands against the back part of the seat and looking up at the ceiling to keep her happy tears away. She was so utterly glad to know that nothing had happened to them, that no strange Hydra people had gotten to them, and most importantly that they were in a better place without having to pass on.

When she got ahold of herself she met his eye and felt her mouth curl up happily. First Steve brings her back her ring, and now Bruce was telling her nothing but good things about her family. She didn't think these people could get any nicer. Needless to say she was really starting to relax and enjoy being here. Even if it had only been a day, and there was a lot she needed to get used to, at least the company wasn't so bad.

"Thanks. Really. I needed to hear that."

Bruce was smiling at her softly and when she looked at him she couldn't help but notice the odd flash of happiness in his eyes. He leaned back into his chair and ran a hand through his already ruffled hair, "You have a strangely calming presence you know?"

Rena bit her lip, no one had ever really said she was calming. Usually she riled people up, unintentionally of course, but despite being so demure and quiet she somehow always caused a scene. Her mother used to tell her it was her hidden talent, be sweet and innocent until the time comes to strike.

She thought back to when she stole those apples and that loaf of bread. She had been so nervous, but at the time she believed she needed to do it. She thought she looked suspicious, but the shopkeeper had hardly batted an eye at her when she rushed out the door.

Rena shook herself in an attempt to clear her head and focused on the now. There was no time to be wondering about her strange character flaws. If she couldn't figure herself out then maybe Bruce could, and if not then she'd just have to remain a mystery to even herself.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

She and Dr. Banner talked all morning.

After the first few questions she started to relax and ask some things on her own out of curiosity. She wanted to know more about S.H.E.L.D and about Fury and why everyone was here, and after a time the conversation led to the Avengers.

She hadn't realized that the superheroes who saved New York and the world were connected to S.H.E.L.D. She may not have had a TV but news in the city traveled like wildfire, reaching every ear that could hear and being passed on by every mouth that could talk. It was almost scary to think about how much gossip meant to some people.

She wanted to know who the Avengers were and if she would ever meet them, because naturally she didn't know their true identities as a fair amount of people didn't, but Bruce only shook his head and told her that she may learn in time.

It finally came down to the one question she had been dreading to ask, and that was about the whole "experiments" ordeal.

They had just finished laughing over something silly when the thought occurred to her. When their merriment died down she shifted in her seat and asked quietly, "…So what kind of experiments will we be doing?"

Bruce seemed surprised at the sudden change of pace in conversation, but he answered her nonetheless, "Well Fury wants me to see how far you can take it. He wants to know what happens when you are… um killed and how the pain matches up to normal people and if you'd be able to build up a tolerance to it."

Rena let out a snort, "I don't think anyone could get used to being stabbed or blown up…"

Bruce pursed his lips and then stood, "Fair enough. Don't worry, I won't… do anything too crazy, that I can at least promise."

"What did you have in mind to begin with?"

He shrugged and started pacing, "I'm not sure to be honest. Easy things. Painless things. Like um, like poison. We've got a whole range of weapons around here so just things that would be quick and painless, at least in theory."

Rena didn't like this idea in the slightest but she kept her mouth shut about it. She supposed this was her fate now, this is all she had to look forward to. On the bright side, Bruce wasn't looking forward to hurting her as much as she wanted to get hurt. She took comfort in this, even if it was minor.

Bruce glanced at a clock on the wall behind him, "Well we've, uh, talked for quite some time. Would you like to grab some lunch? Then afterword's I can take down all of your basic information for our records."

She nodded and her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten breakfast yet, "Sounds good."

Bruce nodded and waited for her to stand. When they walked out Rena felt like something was wrong, but then she realized how silent it had gotten without all the noises from the machines. She was glad that she had been able to get used to the noise otherwise it might have driven her crazy.

The duo rode the elevator up and since it was around one the food court was packed. She immediately spotted Steve and saw that he was with Natasha. She wondered if the other guy who had glared at her was around as well, but she was kind of glad to see that he was absent.

She and Banner both got the tomato soup and grilled cheese combo and the child in her had never been happier.

"Oh look," Banner said with a nod, "It's Steve. You want to sit by them? Have you guys met?"

She nodded, "Yeah. He was supposed to give me a tour the other day but I kind of ditched him for sleep."

Bruce let out a laugh and led her through the crowd towards the others. As they walked, she couldn't help but notice how the other Agents around him gave him a wide arc of space, it was as if they were afraid of him. She wasn't sure why, because he seemed like such a sweet man, but every rose had its thorn she supposed.

When they reached their destination Bruce sat by Natasha and Steve moved to make space for her.

"Hello Rena," Natasha said with her full lipped smile.

She smiled back and found that she was more comfortable without that Clint guy around. He just seemed so… intense. She couldn't handle it on the first day.

"Hi. Nice to see you again."

Bruce spoke up between bites of his sandwich, "Where's Barton?"

"Fury sent him on a mission late last night. He says…" Natasha lowered her voice to a whisper, "you know who suddenly showed up somewhere in the middle of the Sahara and he sent Clint to go rescue him. He supposedly came down with a massive bolt of lightning and took out a good chunk of the earth with his landing. He got caught on the satellites and from what I've been told he couldn't even stand up, let alone fly over to us."

From the look they shared it was obvious that Bruce knew who she was talking about, but Rena was only confused, "Who showed up?" she asked. It was a foolish question that as soon as it was out of her mouth she wanted to suck it right back in. There was no reason for them to tell her, and all of the information was probably classified anyway.

Although, she found it odd they were even bothering to talk about something top secret in front of her. Maybe it didn't really matter, not at the moment anyway.

But Steve answered her anyway, even if it was unintentional, "Thor?" he asked.

Natasha turned her gaze to him and just gave him a look that said, _"Really man? I was being discreet for a reason,"_ to which Steve just bit his lip and looked the other way apologetically.

At the name Rena nearly spit out her spoonful of soup, "Wait what? Thor? As in, God of Thunder? Brother to the guy that nearly destroyed New York? Asgard Thor?"

Natasha rolled her eyes but it was in a playful manor, "Yes Rena, that Thor."

"Woah. I didn't actually think he was real… I mean, I heard about him on the news, and when I passed by hardware stores I saw the wreckage on TV, but there wasn't as much talk about the Avengers as I think everyone had hoped."

"Yeah Fury makes sure to keep… them… under wraps," Bruce said while finishing off the last bite of his sandwich and quickly bringing the bowl of soup up to his mouth to hide behind.

It would take a complete idiot to miss the looks that Natasha and Steve sent his way. Rena was not such an idiot, and she couldn't help but wonder why they had reacted that way. She didn't bother asking though, not yet anyway. It was clear to her that he was keeping a secret from her, a big one, and she didn't know why. For now she was going to assume that it was for her safety.

"Did you… not tell her?" Natasha said slowly.

"Tell me what?"

"It's nothing," Bruce replied quickly and awkwardly. He leaned towards the red head at his side and whispered something in her ear. Natasha looked him up and down for a moment with a look of uncertainty clearly writing across her face.

Rena had to bite her lip to refrain from saying anything she might regret. Here she was just starting to trust these people and they had to go and be all secretive. It's not like she wasn't used to it, she grew up in Chicago after all (and you'd think she'd be a little tougher about it too), and that was a place where lying was the latest trend and secrets were like smiles.

Still, it disappointed her.

Everyone finished off their meals in a stiff silence and when she finished she turned towards Steve and said with a rather pointed tone, "You never did give me that tour. I'm free now if you are."

Bruce didn't say anything. Steve nodded and offered her a faint smile, "Sure. That sounds good to me. Are you finished?"

"Yes," Rena stood and didn't look back at Bruce or Natasha. It was clear that she was angry, but deep down she felt like she shouldn't be, and that only made her angrier. Bruce was probably just doing his job, but in the brief time that she had gotten to know him she felt annoyed that someone couldn't just talk to her for once.

When she was younger her parents always kept secrets from her. In elementary and Jr. High most of the kids ignored her, and the ones that didn't never seemed to trust her with their secrets. Now it seems as though even life has been kept something hidden from her, the fact that she couldn't die. How in the world would she have ever found out that little detail if she hadn't gotten hit by a bus?

"Rena?"

Really it was ridiculous that secrets even had to exist. She was tired of hearing things like "not now" or "I don't want you to know," it made her feel untrustworthy. It made her feel like people didn't actually want her around, like she was just another nobody who was always hanging around in the background. It made her feel like all she could do was to sit there and look pretty while everyone around her handled all the grown up stuff.

"Rena."

The stern voice pulled her from her thoughts. She jumped a little and glanced over to Steve who was staring at her with a worried expression.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"I just wanted to know if you were alright," he looked at her with his big blue eyes and she all but melted into them. There was something about him that calmed and relaxed her and she was glad to have something to anchor on to when her emotions were running amuck.

"I'm okay. I'm just… tired of secrets."

Steve shot her a knowing smile, "It's alright. I understand," he dropped his smile suddenly, "although Dr. Banner isn't normally one to keep secrets. Not unless it's something extremely important, or if Fury told him personally. If he does keep something important to himself, normally no one knows about it until it's the very last second for it to be relevant. He clearly slipped… I'm just trying to figure out why."

Rena nodded slowly, digesting this new information. Without thinking she reached for Steve's hand and gave it a tight squeeze in thanks. He shot her a smile in response and she let her arm fall back to her side. Neither of them said nothing more and for once in her life a comfortable silence fell between her and another human being.

She was grateful for his reassurance and with it she was able to find her strength again. She knew Bruce had wanted to take her normal readings after lunch, but she still had to cool down. She didn't know how long this tour would take, but she figured he could wait until then.

The silence remained between them until they reached the elevator. Before Steve said anything he turned towards her, "Where would you like to start?" he asked.

She put her hand to her mouth in thought, "How about we go top down?"

"Sounds like a plan. E.L.E, takes us to the first floor if you would."

 _"Certainly, Agent Rogers."_

"Ellie?" she asked.

"Oh, it's just short for elevator. Stark used to try and tell us that it stood for 'Electrical Lifting Escort' but we're pretty sure that isn't true. Although he did design her like he had J.A.R.V.I.S. No matter, E.L.E is, again according to Stark, easier to say than elevator. Plus, after a while he reconfigured her so that's the only thing she responds to now."

Steve fell silent as the elevator started upwards. It didn't lurch or hitch or even hiccup once. It was very silent and it actually felt quite safe. She wondered what kind of technology they were using.

The ride up, now that she was finally thinking straight, was only about three minutes. Which, if you think about, was actually quite a long time for an elevator, but they had been stopped a few times on the way. When they arrived the door opened with a soft _whoosh_ and the duo stepped out to avoid a mass of people moving towards them.

On the first floor Rena was able to get a good look at what she had missed the day prior. When Tony had dragged her down there all she could see through her nerves were blurry lines and navy suits.

The room was large and seemed to go for miles above ground as it did under. The room was hollowed out like a mall almost. The floors went around in big rings covered in glass pavilions that divided employees from a long fall downwards.

All sorts of people were walking hurriedly to and fro. There were some people in black and navy one pieces, the assumed uniform, but most of the people up here were dressed in regular business attire such as suits, ties, pencil skirts, and blouses.

In the center of the ground floor there was a large receptionist's desk where three women and one guy were talking calls and filing papers. The flitted to and fro like birds in a cage, trying to do a hundred things at once while remaining calm and composed.

People walked by with trays of coffees and stacks of paperwork. Many passed by them, but not a single person even batted an eyelash their way and she was rather grateful that she didn't cause a scene for simply existing.

It was clear that it was a very busy place here. Steve swept his hand out in a grand gesture after she had looked over most of the place, "This is all referred to as the first floor. Accessible to all with level one clearance and above. Here we mostly file important papers and keep a close eye on, well, strange happenings."

Rena quirked a brow, "Like me?"

Steve hesitated for a moment but then let out a small laugh, "Yes. Like you."

She looked up at the floors above. She counted six massive floors, each with a generous amount of space separating them. She pointed at the very top, "What do they do up there?"

"Most of the same stuff. The top of this building is where a lot of sketches for our technology is designed, and then it's developed downstairs. There are also board meetings way up top. And I mean _bored._ "

Rena looked over at Steve, and while his face was mostly serious, she could see the corner of his mouth rising slightly. She stared at him a second longer before bursting out into a loud laughing fit.

Now people were staring at her. But Steve had started to laugh as well. He was just a funny guy. She hadn't known him for very long but he didn't seem like the type to crack jokes. She had figured that was Tony's job.

After their giggles ceased Steve put a hand on her shoulder and gestured towards the elevator as it was coming back up

"Shall we continue?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "Sounds good to me.

Rena smiled and stepped in when the doors opened and the people cleared out. Steve looked at her and smile, "Care to try a command?"

Rena put a hand to mouth in surprise, "Really?" she knew Ms. Hill had said she would be in the system, but to be honest she hadn't really been expecting it to be true. The other few times she had gotten on the elevator there had always been someone else telling it where to go, or she could just press the brightly lit buttons on the wall.

Steve nodded, "Go ahead. It's good for the system to learn your voice."

She nodded, and then hesitantly said, "Ellie… can you take us down a floor?"

 _"Certainly, Agent Stripe."_

The elevator started downwards slowly and she let out a happy squeak in her miniature success. She was glad that despite how weird this all seemed, it was oddly normal at the same time. Obviously she wasn't like most people, but fitting into this place seemed quite easy for her.

She didn't have to try and impress anyone, so far at least, and she was able to easily fade into the background since no one knew her, and she'd already made some new friends. Even better, she had yet to make a complete fool of herself and that was an honest bonus.

Yes, maybe this place wasn't so bad.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

Long after the girl had disappeared from their sight did Natasha finally start speaking, "Okay she's gone. Now talk. Why are you hiding who we are from her?"

Bruce pursed his lips, feeling uncomfortable under her sudden scrutinizing gaze, "I well… why should I even have to tell her? She clearly didn't recognize us at first glance so… wouldn't it be nice to just, well, be a person for a while?"

Natasha narrowed her eyes. Every inch of her gaze was icy, from her pupils to even the tips of her eyelashes she seemed completely on edge, "For once it shouldn't matter. Most of the people here know who we are anyway, and Rena will find out sooner or later. She's just going to be all the more heartbroken that her supposed _friend_ didn't tell her."

Bruce flinched, her comment had struck a small nerve because he liked Rena well enough already. He crossed his arms defensively before sinking even further into the cafeteria bench they were still seated at, "Yeah I guess…" he couldn't fathom as to why she was so upset with him. It really wasn't any of her business anyway. Was it?

Natasha suddenly relaxed, realizing the pressure she was putting on him. It had been some time since they had known each other and she was no longer afraid of angering him into the Hulk, but he still didn't deserve to be the pincushion of her anger.

"Look," she said slowly, "Director Fury told me about some of the things she might be able to do. He said that depending on if she has any other abilities and if she showed enough promise then she could earn a spot as an Avenger, which means she will definitely know who we are and I think she should know sooner rather than later. I don't know who you're trying to protect, her? Or yourself?"

Bruce sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. He readjusted himself and looked up at her, "I wasn't trying to do anything… at first. There's just something off about her. Don't you feel it?"

She shook her head, red hair bobbing slightly, "She seems like a very nice girl. Very humble and quiet."

"Well that too but…"

"Bruce, I've been able to read people like open books since I was born. There's nothing wrong with Rena. She's nervous and a little scared, and also more than a little angry that you clearly lied to her –"

"Yeah a lie that you and Rogers just had to call me out on."

"–But I think she'll be just fine. I'm not sure how training will go for her at her age and lack of experience, but this can all be sorted in due time."

He shook his head and started biting his thumb out of nervousness. What he hadn't told her was that he felt unusually calm around Rena, and for someone like him, who always made sure to keep himself pissed off, that was bizarre.

After he learned how to cope with it, his anger became a constant in his life. To have it suddenly disappear like that… it almost made him loose grip on reality. The big guy probably would've stayed quiet, but feeling relaxed was not something he was used to. Or something he wanted to get used to in fear of losing control over the monster inside himself. Or perhaps a worse fate in his new line of work would be losing the ability to summon him altogether. Now he highly doubted that the latter would come true, but it was still an unsettling thought.

He was about to tell Natasha all of this, really he was so close, but he decided to just shut up for the moment. He needed to look at this from a scientific prospective. Maybe Rena's power, other than being able to regenerate herself from an otherwise fatal wound, had something to do with calming people.

He didn't know, not yet anyway. But he was sure that if he looked in the right place at the right time then he'd be able to find his answers.

As he was thinking he recalled what Natasha had said earlier about Thor, "Hey, why are you calling me out about hiding our identities when you didn't even tell her about Thor?" he raised an accusing eyebrow at her.

She only smiled softly for a brief moment before it turned sour, "I didn't even mean to bring it up to be honest. It sort of just… popped out, which is strange for me, but it doesn't matter. For once, I'm a little worried. Director Fury told me he was in bad shape. I just got a message that Clint's on his way back so he should be landing within the hour."

He thought about commenting on information just "popping out" of the elusive Black Widow, but he held his tongue. There must have been a reason, there was always a reason when it came to her. Instead he asked, "Do you know what happened?"

She shook her head, "No. But we'll find out soon enough."

They fell silent for a moment. He didn't know how to comfort her, or if he even should. Instead he stood and cleared the table of their trash and made a gesture towards the elevator, "Want to go wait for them?"

Natasha pressed her lips together in a thin line. They both had stuff to get to, but it was clear that she had something on her mind. Bruce may not have been as good at reading people as her, but when she bothered to show her emotions it was obvious, as she almost always had up her defensive wall.

As the metal doors of the elevator closed around them, the tension in the air lessened. Natasha's walls went back up and Bruce felt his normal anger returning as he thought about Rena. He wasn't mad at _her_ , he was just frustrated at what he was assuming were her powers. His anger had returned tenfold at the mere thought that he couldn't just figure it out and be done with it, but he managed to chill out enough to stop seeing red.

Everything was normal again.

The lift stopped at the very bottom floor. The duo walked silently through the sleeping quarters and made their way to a locked door at the very end of the hall.

"Agent Natasha Romanoff, reporting for official use."

"And Agent Bruce Banner, reporting for official use."

Two little beeps sounded and a light briefly flashed green near a keypad as the door recognized their voices. After a moment a scanner opened up and each agent in turn stepped forward and had their retina scanned. After another few beeps the door opened quietly.

The two stepped into a seated machine and a second elevator took them down in a gentle slope further into the earth.

When the lift stopped they hopped into a black Humvee and followed the ramp that took them up and back towards the surface, Natasha was driving.

On the way out to the hanger they passed several checkpoints. Both of them having their badges close at hand to prove they had proper clearance to access the flight hangers.

As she drove, Bruce always thought it was kind of ridiculous how much land S.H.E.L.D seemed to own. Then again, when you're a top secret government facility you can't exactly let the world know what you're up to out in the open.

He watched the land go by quickly. From here he could already see the big camo green warehouse that held their tanks and aircraft carriers and jets. It was down in a little crater and a long landing strip jutted out into the ocean. There was one for takeoff parallel to it as well.

People were moving stuff around, helicopters were taking off and landing for whatever reason, jets were flying in and out casually, there seemed to be a lot of activity today.

It wasn't a far drive, to the hanger that is, but he felt a little on edge going out here. It looked pretty normal for a government facility, massive hangers, long stripes of road, and so on and so forth. But there was just something about the big open spaces that bothered him. Maybe he was agoraphobic, especially since if the green thing inside him was set loose, actually loose, he'd have a fucking field day out here destroying everything.

He liked to think he had control, well he did, but only sometimes really. If he was really focused on a fight he could easily become one with his other self, most times though it just felt like there were two warring kids in his mind. He just couldn't win no matter what he tried.

They went through a tunnel and the sudden shadow broke his train of thoughts. They started curving to the left towards the warehouse and as they exited the tunnel they were coming up towards the entrance of the hanger. The roar of an engine could be heard and a sleek black jet flew overhead, circling the area.

Bruce saw Natasha grip the wheel harder, "That's his jet. He's early."

"His" meaning Clint, though to be honest he hadn't known the man had a favorite air vehicle of choice.

"How can you tell?"

"When he flies, he _flies_. That's the most powerful jet we have right now. The fastest and newest model. And he's… he's coming in too fast!"

Natasha braked suddenly. She turned the wheel sharply and the Humvee tilted and swerved to a screeching halt. Without warning she got out of the car and started running towards the quickly approaching jet.

"Is that a good idea?" he shouted at her. Either she couldn't hear him or was choosing not to answer.

Bruce looked up at the jet. The midday sun shining off of it and making it look like a floating puddle of black ink. He saw the wheels come out as it neared the ground, but it was skidding a lot. As it neared, you could see the smoke coming off of the backend which indicated that something had been caught on fire at some point. There wasn't a lot of time for anyone to think, because the jet suddenly hit the ground way too hard and started flipping.

The workers that had been attempting to direct the driver out on the runway were now scattering as it was coming in way too fast for comfort. Other people, ones inside the hanger who had been prepped for his landing, were moving out of the way too just in case.

He looked back towards the jet and saw that the back end was going faster than the front and was going into the air very quickly. Bruce panicked, and started running towards it without a second thought.

Natasha stopped dead in her tracks when she heard thunderous steps running in the same direction as her. She didn't even need to turn around to know what was happening.

A moment later, the Hulk bounded past her, effortlessly going across the landing strips towards the flipping jet. It was such a weird sight to her, Clint was always so careful, what could've gone wrong?

She watched as he caught the tail end of the jet just before it hit the ground. If it had, the thing probably would've exploded and killed the passengers inside.

He picked it up and shook it around a little before the already cracked glass of the windshield opened and shattered onto the road beneath. Two bodies fell out limply, probably unconscious, and landed with heavy thuds.

The Hulk threw the jet unceremoniously to the side, but at least he had enough decency to throw it far into the ocean where no one would get hurt from the massive explosion it produced.

He then started stomping around, not entirely sure what to do. He started punching the ground a ways away, trying to work out his anger and turn back to normal since Natasha was just a touch too busy for a lullaby.

Meanwhile the medics and workers and agents in the hanger all started rushing out to help. Natasha was the first to get to Clint and Thor and both men were groaning in pain.

Thor was completely unconscious, but from the look on his face it was clear that he could still feel the pain of landing on the ground. Clint however was blinking his eyes rapidly and was awake and aware enough of what was going on around him to try and move.

"Clint? What happened?" she asked when he started trying to stand.

He didn't speak, only kept trying to get up. She offered her hand and slowly helped him to his feet. Clint staggered around a bit as if he were drunk, but he eventually steadied. A medic offered assistance, but he pushed them away.

"Clint you should rest!" she shouted at him before going to walk by his side. He took slow lumbering steps, he was on a mission to somewhere, but for what?

She tried to stop him, but he just shook his head. Eventually, he spat out a couple of words, "Fury… need to… speak…"

"I'll call him. Stay here, you're of no use if you can't even stand up straight."

"Fury…" he groaned out when she pushed him onto an approaching stretcher.

"He can walk her faster than you can blink right now.'

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, within moments of that statement and Clint being whisked away to the med bay, Director Fury walked up to her.

"Romanoff. What on Earth are you doing over here?"

She pursed her lips before standing tall and straight to report to her Director, "I came to greet Clint."

He stared at her with his unyielding one eyed gaze, "Barton doesn't need a welcome wagon at his beck and call. And why is Dr. Banner with you? And like that?"

She turned her head to see the aforementioned man walking towards him. He was wearing his trademark pair of loose purple shorts and the tattered remains of his lab coat as a means of covering up.

"Afternoon Director…" he said when he got close enough.

Fury just shook his head in defeat, "I thought you were supposed to be with agent Stripe today."

"I was. We decided to take a little break. She's with Rogers now, taking a tour of the place."

Fury sighed dramatically, "Well at least she's not here. Care to fill me in on what's going on?"

Fury started walking away and the two quickly fell in line behind him. Natasha started speaking since Bruce had blacked out for most of what had just happened. He may be in pretty decent control of the other guy, but even he admitted that sometimes it was still hard to remember what exactly he had been doing. Last thing he could recall was being incredibly angry over the thought that his friends could die and that if he didn't turn now he would hate himself for not doing something.

"We were just checking in to see if Barton had returned yet. We were just driving up when he arrived, but he was landing too fast. The jet flipped, or started to, but Dr. Banner caught it in time and got them out before the engine gave way."

"Thor made it back safely?"

"Yes sir."

Fury turned towards them, "Alright. Dismissed. I'll be in my office, so let Barton know to come talk to me as soon as he's coherent and walking again."

Natasha stepped towards Fury a little, stopping him from going any further, "I think he had something important to tell you now sir. He got up and was walking in an attempt to try and get to you."

Fury sighed again, but he started walking towards the med bay now, "Very well. If he's conscious I'll see what he has to say."

Natasha and Bruce followed closely behind. There was a close medical area for cases like this, it was situated just inside the hanger. When they walked in, Clint was lying on the bed with his eyes shut.

"Agent Barton," Fury said when they were close enough, "You awake?"

Clint's eyes moved under his eyelids for a moment before slowly opening, "Director Fury…" his voice was raspy. He attempted to stand but Fury put a hand on his shoulder gently.

"Stand down soldier. Just tell me what you need to say."

Clint fell back into the sheets without protest. He steadied his breathing before speaking. His next works sent a chill down everyone's spine, "Loki's escaped."


	10. Chapter 10

**I've got no clue what I'm doing with this story. I don't even know if you guys like it or if even I like it. Also thanks to whoever pointed out that I spelled the fucking titled wrong. I'm so mad at myself for that haha. Anyway enjoy.**

* * *

 **10**

"This place seems massive." She commented when the doors were shut once more. They had continued on and the tour was going much quicker than she thought it would. Sublevel one and two were similar to what people did on the ground floor, such as sorting papers and filing them away for future use. Sublevel three included food and recreational rooms. It's where she would be training with Steve and that other guy.

"It is," Steve said in response to her comment, "It's got quite the view of New York from up top too."

"Oh, I'll have to see someday soon." Rena smiled at Steve and when he returned the action she felt much more at ease than before. Her butterflies of talking alone with a boy for the first time had settled some, though he was still quite handsome, but now she could actually concentrate on having a decent conversation.

The feeling of relaxation carried on throughout the tour. She felt at ease now and was glad that she had been able to relax at all. She had been so worried that her nerves would make her bite off all her fingernails and rip out all her hair, but her body and mind seemed perfectly in tune with each other at the moment.

Everything had been happening so fast that when she thought about the past few days all she got was a blurry tangle of thoughts. If felt nice to finally slow and be in the moment and just breathe.

As the tour continued she learned that sublevel four continued where floor three left off. There they had a basketball court, a massive swimming pool, and a batting cage. All of these levels were available for people with level one clearance.

Sublevel five was filled with labs. This was where Rena had met Dr. Banner earlier that day and she was glad they hadn't run into each other. Sublevel five was only for people with level two clearance or above.

Sublevel six was filled with a variety of rooms for testing large and possibly dangerous experiments. Sublevel seven was where she had gotten lost before with all the meeting rooms, and finally the last floor, floor eight, was the sleeping quarters. The last few were only for those with level three clearance, which is what she had.

At the end of the long hall on the sleeping quarters he pointed towards a heavily locked metal door and told her that it led outside and to the hangers. He said she was more than likely to be taught how to fly at some point so she would be given special clearance for that sector when the time was right.

The entire tour had only taken about an hour, but it hadn't been extremely in depth. For that she didn't mind since a full length trip through the place would probably take all day and then some.

When they were finished Rena wasn't exactly sure what to do now. She thought back to Dr. Banner and sighed.

"Mr. Rogers?" she asked quietly.

Steve smiled, "Steve is fine."

She played with her hands and blushed. She didn't even know why she used his last name, she had called him by Steve before. She was going to chalk it up to just more nerves, "Steve, would you mind helping me find Dr. Banner? We still needed to go over some things in the lab."

He nodded and turned around to go back down the hall, "Sure. His lab is—"

The metal door opened from behind them and she was surprised to see Natasha and Bruce walking out of the secret sector her and Steve had just been talking about. They both looked pale, but what really got her was the absolute state Bruce was in. She felt her hands go to her face in worry and rushed over there.

"Mr. Banner… what happened are you okay?"

He seemed just as startled to see her there but he answered anyway, "I'm okay, thanks. Uh, what are you guys doing down here?"

"We just finished her tour," Steve looped his thumbs through the loops of his jeans and his eyebrows furrowed together. He gestured towards Bruce with a perplexed look on his face, "What happened?"

Natasha answered, "Clint came back earlier than we thought. He was landing too fast and the jet almost flipped. Thankfully Bruce saved them in time."

Rena's eyes went wide but she said nothing. How on earth could he have stopped a jet? Maybe that's what the people in the cafeteria had been afraid of, his apparent jet stopping strength.

Throughout the tour Steve hadn't really introduced her to anyone, but in the rec rooms she could see people who were clearly not human, training. For example there was a women with porcupine protrusions who was sparring with who was probably her trainer.

Perhaps Bruce was one of those not-quite-human creatures? She knew she was no longer completely human what with her newfound abilities, but she didn't exactly know how or where to classify herself. He must have super strength or something similar, but then why were his clothes such a mess? Maybe the engine had ripped them off. Was he fireproof or something? Or maybe he was just invincible. Rena found this very interesting as both Natasha and Steve were quite normal-looking to her.

She didn't ask what he had done, instead she decided to forgo getting her bloodwork done and instead decided she would just rest in her room for now. She was actually rather tired and a nice in the tub wasn't such a bad sounding idea. Rena excused herself quietly, and the other three seemed relieved. They must have more secrets to talk about without her there.

Her room was far enough away that she could no longer hear them. She slipped into her room quietly and had about five minutes of peace before being absolutely startled beyond reason to hear a phone ringing. She didn't even know she'd had a phone.

Turns out there was a little standardized phone with a sleek black base attachment. It was ringing and after a moment she picked up hesitantly.

"Hello?"

"Rena is that you?" said a cheery voice.

"T-Tony? Mr. Stark is that you?"

There was hearty laugh on the other end, "Indeed it is. Hey, I just wanted to see how you were adjusting was all."

She felt her eyebrow quirk and a smile formed across her lips even though no one could see it, "I'm doing well. Thank you. Although I have to ask, how did you find out which room I was in?"

"S.H.E.L.D thinks they can block me out, but they totally can't. I'm, like, the best hacker ever so don't even worry about it. Say I was hoping you would do something for me?"

Rena shifted her weight to her other leg. Secretly feeling her hopes rising because for once someone was in need of _her_ and _her_ assistance. Also, did Tony just say he was a _hacker?_ She couldn't help but wonder what kind of free time this man had. She had assumed that along with his eccentricity he had an air of intelligence about him, but he'd had yet to showcase any of his brain power to her. Until now apparently.

But instead of being weirded she just said, "Sure. I'll do what I can," and appreciated his need for her help.

"Okay fantastic. I would greatly appreciate it if you'd be willing to give me just a small sample of your blood. I'm right outside so if you're free, which I assume you are since I saw you walk into your room, then meet me across the street."

Rena's head titled to the side in confusion, "I think I can do that easily enough, but um, what for? Also what did you just say? You saw me _what?_ "

"Don't worry. Spy cams you know? I'll turn them off when we're done. Aside from that, I'm being honest when I say that this whole ordeal fascinates me. I'm sure Banner's going to be poking you up and down but I'd like a blood sample for myself. I can't wait for someone else to tell me all the details you know! Just trust me on this, I'll tell you when you get out here deal?"

She laughed a little at his childish impatience. Looking down at her hand she bit her lip and asked if he had something sharp and proper container. He said he was prepared so she said she'd be right up.

When they hung up, Tony turned off his connection to S.H.E.L.D's camera database and leaned against a wall by his bright red sports car. He knew he stood out, he knew Fury would look at the camera feed later and say, "What in the hell?" but he didn't really care.

What he really cared about was Rena's blood. He was interested in how she worked, how she ticked. He was still having nightmares over his brief moment in the void last year, but Rena's mere presence had calmed him immediately. He hadn't realized that most of his fear was gone until after she left.

He started thinking that maybe her abilities could be recreated in a way. People not dying left and right was a nice thought, but even he knew how bad that would be for the economy. However, if he could create some kind of ultimate cure from her cells than maybe he could save the world all the while protecting it with his Iron Legion mark II.

With a healing power like that he could easily make a cure for stuff like cancer, and on top of that, probably make it never happen again.

Since she couldn't die supposedly, then her cells must have some kind miraculous healing agent. Whatever was in her blood he needed to get his hands on it and create a working serum and soon. Hopefully he wouldn't need more than a vialful because he was sure that once Fury found out what he was doing he was going to put Rena under lock and key and possibly relocate her somewhere far away from the mad scientist he was slowly becoming.

As he was lost in thought he didn't notice Rena approaching him. He smiled when he felt her presence long before his eyes focused and he saw her. He was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and Rena was in her new uniform and was holding a bag out to him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"The clothes you lent me earlier. If you want them back you can have them"

He smiled and reached back to scruff up her hair. He hadn't realized before just how calming she truly was. He didn't want to go back to feeling all of that fear again, but he knew he could get rid of it permanently if he could just finish his stupid projects.

He pushed the bag back towards her, "Nah. Keep them. That shirt makes me look fat anyway."

She smiled and laughed and then put the bag by her feet and began rolling up her sleeve. Her smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of grim determination, "Okay I'm ready."

Tony pulled out the clean syringe he had brought and uncapped it. He threw on a pair of surgical gloves too just for the hell of it. He drew her blood quickly and recapped the needle so he wouldn't accidentally stab himself on the ride home. He looked at the dark liquid for a moment and was glad that things were headed in the right direction for once.

"Is something wrong Tony?" she asked sweetly from his side when he was staring at her blood for too long.

"Huh? No! Not in the slightest. In fact I'm more than glad you were willing to help. I'm kind of a genius so, well, I figured I could use your blood to develop like an ultimate cure or something you know? Since you can't die, your cells must able to reproduce at an alarmingly fast rate. In other words, you and I could totally save the world."

Her dark eyes widened and he was glad to see the excitement in them. After the ordeal with Ultron he knew Banner had lost a lot of faith in him, but not Rena. No she trusted him fully and right now he needed somebody on his side.

"That… really? Could that work? I never imagined it could go that big."

He patted her on the back, "You and I can do things to save this world. For now though, let's keep this quiet, between you and me huh?"

Rena bit her lip, but then she smiled. She had never been told a secret before, much less had one of her own. The thought was exhilarating and she nodded quickly. Tony thanked her again and then sent her off back into the building. She watched him drive away in his brightly colored car and felt beyond pleased that someone had finally trusted her with something major.

She could save the world huh? A thought like that had never even once occurred to her, but when she pictured this ideal cure being introduced to her mother and grandmother, and then them subsequently being healed, Rena knew she would be so proud of her and what she had accomplished.

It was such a wonderful thought. She hoped it would come to fruition soon.


	11. Chapter 11

**I hope y'all are enjoying. I know that the pacing is a little weird in this story, and that's because I wasn't ready to post so now I'm scrambling to just get something out there for everyone haha. Don't get me wrong I've got ideas and I know where I want this to go, it's just a matter of _getting_ there that's the problem! Anyway, so now we get to see Rena's powers coming out! Fun stuff.**

* * *

 **11**

The shaggy haired blond lying on the hospital bed hadn't woken up yet and Rena was surprised that Natasha had even granted her request to see Thor, even if he was still out cold.

Earlier Rena had been in the middle of lunch with the Steve, Bruce, and Nat after getting her blood taken with the Doctor when Clint came walking in slowly with giant bruises marring his otherwise flawless skin. He sat down silently next to his red-headed friend but didn't say a word.

In fact he just looked beyond tired, even more so than when she first met him a couple of days ago. She hadn't known he was back from his so called mission at all and Nat, who had insisted that Rena call her that, looked him up and down with an obviously worried expression.

"You should be resting," Nat said.

Clint attempted to shrug but the pain from the action was clearly written across his face. He winced and rubbed his shoulder, "I've got better things to do besides sleep all day. They fixed all the broken bones and closed up all the major wounds, so I'm just a little sore. Plus, it's the weekend."

"So?"

He gave his friend a look, "So they bake fresh cookies on Saturday. I think I deserve a cookie. Do any of you disagree?" he met each of his friends' gazes, including Rena's. Silently challenging them to argue with him.

No one did, but Rena who still felt uncomfortable around him stood quickly and offered to get it for him. He looked like he was about to protest, but Natasha gently pinched his forearm as she had predicted his response to Rena's offer.

Rena went through the line and grabbed a small pile of cookies and a prepackaged carton of milk. When she got back she slid the tray across the table and Clint's eyes looked down at the food and then up to her. He didn't smile, but as he was opening the carton he said, "I am so glad you understand things."

Everyone except for Rena, who was slightly confused, just chuckled lightly, "What?" she asked.

He just held up the milk in response and shoved a cookie in his mouth.

As silence fell upon the group she wanted desperately to ask what had happened on his mission as he supposedly went to go retrieve Thor, but she held her tongue. She didn't even know how appropriate it was for her to ask anyway, but thankfully Steve was the one to speak up.

"So uh, how's he doing then?"

Clint, now cured of his cookie craving, sat back on the bench, "Still out cold. Mostly healed, but asleep. He's breathing at least."

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

Nat rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean. You've been in the emergency wing for the last two days and under complete lockdown."

Clint's eyes suddenly hardened and he looked away from everyone, "I told you and Banner what happened. That's all you need to know."

"But how did he even… _what_ did he even do?" Bruce spoke up for the first time in a while. He was about as quiet as Rena was sometimes.

Clint ran a hand down his face, "You know. Bad stuff. He's kind of evil remember? When I went to pick up Thor the poor guy was under some big blue bastard's food and was barely breathing. His hammer is still out there since I obviously couldn't grab it, but once he wakes he'll be able to retrieve it easily enough."

Rena's interest peaked, "Thor?"

Clint turned her way, "Yeah. Guy's still down in the med bay. They moved him inside and he's not going to be happy when he finally wakes up."

"Can I see him?" all eight pairs of eyes turned to her and she blushed deeply, "I um, when he wakes up I mean."

A strange look crossed Nat's face and she stood. She made a "follow me" gesture towards Rena and started walking towards the elevator, "We can go see him now awake or not. I want to see how he's doing, since he's my friend too."

They took the elevator downwards and Rena fidgeted with her hands. Fast forward through about ten minutes of arguing with the staff down there and that brings them to where Rena was currently sitting in a chair and staring at the strange man from another world.

His breathing was even and the two of them had been staring at him for about twenty minutes now. Natasha had started pacing back and forth after a time and Rena wasn't entirely sure what to do or say to calm her.

Rena was biting her bottom lip nervously. She should probably go back up soon, she was supposed to talk to Steve about training since her schedule yesterday hadn't quite gone as smoothly as originally planned, but instead she was down here.

In fact she was about to excuse herself, but before she left she felt the strangest need to put her hand in Thor's as some kind of symbol to him that she was there. She briefly remembered someone telling her that if someone's mind was still active then they could still unconsciously feel another person's touch.

After a moment of thinking, she realized that it had been her mother who had said that. When she died for the first time and her family was saying their final farewells. If she concentrated, she could barely remember the faint feel of her little sister's tiny hand in hers as she cried and said goodbye.

She smiled at the memory and trusted her instincts. If anything, it was simply just to offer Thor some comfort while he continued to rest.

She reached out, but the moment her hand touched his an overwhelming pain washed over her and she fell to her knees. Natasha was at her side in an instant. She was asking her what was wrong but all Rena had the strength to focus on was making the pain go away.

In unconscious response to the pain her grip tightened around Thor's, not realizing she was still holding on.

The pain she felt wasn't exactly physical, but she felt her heart breaking and her gut twisting into tiny little knots. She felt as if every fiber of her being was on fire and the feeling manifested itself in the form of fat salty tears as they rushed down her face.

She felt utterly betrayed.

But why?

No one had done anything to harm her in the short time she had been here. All the people she had met were kind to her and she would easily consider them friends. So why was she feeling as if someone close to her had just stabbed her right where in counted? Right in the heart?

She felt like someone had bottled up all of her trust and smashed it to pieces on the ground. She gasped and her breaths came in short little pants.

Then it was gone and both of her arms were wrapped around herself tightly.

"Rena, Rena are you okay?" Natasha's green eyes were wide and were looking her up and down for injuries. Rena was shaking violently and the older women, seeing the fear in her eyes from all the pain she had suddenly just experienced, pulled her in for a hug.

"I – I…"

"Shh, it's okay. You'll be okay."

"Wh – wha…"

Rena couldn't spit out the words. She felt disoriented and like she was going to throw up. She couldn't calm her rapidly beating heart, but the sound of sheets moving captured both of their attention. Rena looked at the man on the bed and saw his head moving slightly. Not trusting herself to speak, she gently turned Nat around.

Still with one arm around Rena, she hefted the two of them up and leaned over Thor slightly, "Thor..?" Natasha asked, unsure.

The blond stirred some before his eyes opened wide and he sat up with a startled gasp. His arms flailed and he looked at the two of them with fear in his eye.

He relaxed a little when he spotted Natasha and he ran a hand through his long locks, "Where… where am I, what happened?"

Nat helped Rena back into the chair she had previously occupied, "You're on Earth, at one of S.H.E.L.D's bases."

"Which one?"

"New York."

Thor nodded and his gaze went to his lap. He looked at his hands and flexed his fingers as if to make sure he was really awake. He sighed heavily, "I know not of what happened. One minute I am in Asgard speaking with my father Odin, and the next sirens have been rung and an army of Chitauri are at our doorsteps. Their presence had been undetected by even Heimdall, which startles me greatly."

"How'd you get here?"

Thor's gaze was blank as he recalled the last few moments he'd had before being knocked out by some powerful and blinding power, "I was… trying to get word down to Midgard…"

Thor clutched his head in confusion. Nat reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't force it. Just tell me what you can recall."

Squinting his eyes, Thor looked at Natasha and then at Rena. He looked severely confused at her presence but then stuck out his hand for a handshake as he had seen other Midgardians do, "I am Thor. Who are you Midgardian?"

Surprised, Rena slowly reached out, "My name is Renaissance Str—"

As their bare skin made contact Rena felt her eyes roll into the back of her head. The emotional destruction returned tenfold and her legs gave out and she tumbled to the ground. The pain having been so sudden and so severe that it was too much for her to handle a second time and she fainted.

On her way down Thor had let go of her hand and was startled to see her reaction. He looked at Natasha who was already sticking her head out the door and calling for help.

Two medics came in and whisked the young girl away. Thor looked down at his hand and could feel a powerful surge of calming energy washing through him. That girl was not an ordinary human, this he knew the moment he touched her. His hand looked normal, but just under the skin his pulse was racing. She had done something to him, taken something. At first he didn't know what, but as his thoughts returned from their scrambled state he knew. For a brief moment, she had stolen all of the negative things inside of him and experienced them for herself.

The calm was what had woken him. His mind had been so clouded with thoughts and fear of what his brother was doing yet again that he found that he could not claw his way to the surface and back into a state of consciousness. That and the big bruise on his head wasn't helping in the slightest.

With his mind in a state of sudden peace, the feeling had jolted him awake and he was glad he was up and able to move, because now he could concentrate on the important task at hand.

While she had taken all of the evil from him, he did not feel refreshed. In fact he felt ten times worse as it all came rushing back, but the God of Thunder shook it off quickly and stood, pulling off all the strange Midgardian equipment in his arms and heading straight for his clothes lying in a neat pile on a chair in the corner.

"Thor you should sit back down."

"Not now Widow of Black. I must speak to Fury as soon as possible."

Her hand halted his movements, "We know Loki got out. Clint told us."

"Then you understand that we must hurry. I remember now, he has stolen the stone of Reality. He must have used it to bend the rules of reality and ensure that the Chitauri would not be noticed. Should he succeed in whatever it is he's doing, I fear it will not end well."

Thor pulled his pants on under his hospital garment and all but ripped the flimsy thing off and was roughly throwing on his armor. Natasha didn't really know what to say so she waited for him to finish and the duo rushed out the door in search of their Director.

Meanwhile, Rena had been taken to her room. After fainting, the doctors and nurses checked her vitals and when everything was deemed okay they took her to her room, thinking she just needed some rest.

In the darkness of her mind, images of a lifeless world rushed through her thoughts. Jewels of different colors were crushed and reformed into different shapes and sizes, it was like a nauseating ride through a kaleidoscope.

With the images came a great sorrow that she couldn't shake. All she could comprehend was a deep heartache that wasn't her own. A memory that made her mourn her brother came up suddenly, but she was sure her own family was perfectly fine. So whose brother _was_ she mourning?

No sooner had the thought entered her mind she woke hastily. There was a heavy fear that filled her and she flailed about until she rolled and fell off the bed. With an undignified grunt she stilled and said, "Ow."

Standing and rubbing her back she sat down and took a moment to think. She looked at her bedside clock and saw that she had been out for a few hours. It was nearing five and dinner would start soon, though she wasn't sure if she was even hungry.

Rena thought back to what had happened right before she fell unconscious. She looked down at her hand and bit her lip. There was no mark, no bruise, not even a faded scar. There was nothing to indicate that something had even gone wrong in the first place.

Did Thor have some kind of supernatural power to make people pass out? She flexed her short digits as she thought this. No, he could wield thunder that much she knew, but there had never been talk about mind control or anything similar. Thor was a warrior, he didn't seem the type to deal in mental manipulation.

Still, she shivered at those feelings that had come so abruptly. Deep down she felt as if she had violated him, but she didn't know how. For the life of her she couldn't even begin to figure out what the heck had happened back there.

Her eyes fell on the phone sitting on the desk. She went over and picked up. Hesitating, she played around with it in her hands for a bit. Bruce had given her his office number and Steve his room number which for him was just three digits.

She played around with the numbers before deciding to call Steve. She waited, listening to the ringing, but after a few minutes she figured he wasn't in his room. She called Bruce and got the same results.

With a sigh, she got up and headed towards the door with hope that she would find someone. She was feeling uneasy and like she needed to talk to someone about everything going through her head right now. She would've called Tony if she had his number, but as of current she had no way of contacting him.

A stern face came flying down the hall. She recognized this person as Maria and she waved to get her attention. The agent glanced her way and slowed slightly, "Something the matter Miss Stripe?"

"I was hoping you would know where Steve or Bruce were. Or even Natasha. I… wanted to talk to one of them."

Maria pursed her lips and pointed towards the elevator, "They are in a meeting with Director Fury. I can tell you where they are but it's up to the Director to let you in or not."

The women gave her a set of directions and briskly walked off. Rena exhaled slowly and made her way to sublevel seven and to the room she had been told. It hadn't been that hard to find either since it was the only room with a light on while the others were dark.

She peaked into the window from the hallway, not really thinking, and immediately caught Fury's eyes. Er, eye. She jumped and made to run away, but the door opened and Steve was standing there.

"Agent Stripe, you seem to have impeccable timing. Come in, we were just talking about you," Fury said.

Worry crept up her spine as she eased herself into the room. All of her new friends were there, including Thor whom she had just met. She sat quickly in hopes of getting the attention off of her, "Did I do something wrong?" she squeaked out.

"No. You are perfectly fine Agent Stripe. Natasha was just telling the group about how you fainted when you and Thor shook hands, and he says you took all of his fears and anxieties away?"

"I – I did?"

Bruce leaned onto the table to talk to her, "We were just theorizing about your powers. Both Steve, Thor, and I think you have a very calming presence. And eventually Natasha agreed as well. We think maybe you have an ability that promotes inner peace along with your other powers."

Rena was confused, "Wh – what? So you're saying that I, like, can calm people or something?"

"More or less. We'll have to test this theory," Bruce stood and walked over to her. He stuck out his hand, "I understand that you probably just woke up, but if you're willing I'd like to see what kind of results this will produce."

"N-now?"

He lowered his hands slightly, "No! No we don't have to. Sorry, I was um, getting ahead of myself. We're all just… really on edge I guess."

Rena bit her lip. She didn't want to experience that feeling of utter devastation again. Her hands were shaking, but she took a moment to think rationally. Bruce was a very quiet person, and if what he was saying was true than what she had been feeling before were all of Thor's feelings. He should be calm and collected right? She shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Surely, this would be a good thing right? She would be able to discover a little bit more about herself and her powers, right? She was actually a little surprised to hear that everyone was on edge. About what she didn't know, but if this would help lessen the tension then she was all for it. She didn't want to cause any more trouble than she had to.

Nervously she stuck out her hand, "O – okay. I guess it doesn't hurt to try."


	12. Chapter 12

**12**

Nothing could've prepared her for the blinding rage that she felt. Unlike what had happened with Thor, the feelings swirling through her mind were nothing but pure rage. It didn't make her pass out, instead it made her want to hit something. Hard. To punch something until it crumbled to dust beneath her feet.

She didn't realize that the feeling was strengthened the longer they maintained skin to skin contact. Her grip unconsciously began tightening around his. Her nails dug into his palm and he flinched as he started bleeding. If she kept this up everyone knew the other guy would've come out with or without his consent just to keep him safe.

When they got her off, Steve having had to pull her away forcefully, Rena was breathing heavily. The rage was disappearing quickly, but underneath all of the anger she felt that same hollowing sorrow. And underneath that was a strong fear mixed with anxiety and just the tiniest touches of hope.

Why had he been so angry? What was Dr. Banner so mad at that caused him to feel that way? Before she knew it Rena was crying violent rivers. She looked up and met Bruce's eye. He opened his mouth and started to apologize, for what she wasn't sure nor did she care, but Rena silenced him by running over and throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.

Her head was tucked under his chin and while they were skin to skin no feelings of anger appeared, which led her to believe it was only through contact with her open palms. She sobbed loudly into his shirt as she clung to him and everyone else present in the room was at a complete loss for words.

"Rena are you… okay?" he asked awkwardly after a few seconds.

She cried for a moment more before composing herself slightly and pulling away, "I'm so sorry," she said through choked sobs, "I don't know what made you so mad but I'm so, so sorry."

Her bottom lip was trembling and the previous statement was all it took for everyone to understand that Rena had an extraordinary ability to read people's emotions and sympathize with them.

Thor's feelings popped back into her head and she whirled around to face the demigod. She walked over and clasped her hands together, "And you… I… I felt a different kind of pain when we touched. I felt loss and sadness and grieving. Did someone… did you have another brother that died? I felt an emptiness in you from a family member's death…"

She watched Thor's face go heavy with memories, "No. My brother Loki is very much alive, but I once thought him dead and the pain was as true as an arrow through the heart. Though he lived, I will never forget that sadness." His brows furrowed and he looked to meet Rena's eyes, "How did you know such things?"

Rena, not willing in the slightest to lie to these people, said, "When I was passed out I saw it, sort of. I got feelings and memories. Some came with warmth, others pain. Most came with pain actually. I had a… a thought of some kind of these colorful jewels, and then feelings of family, your family I think. I don't… really understand."

"You saw the infinity stones? How odd. Another thing that I noticed when we touched was… Banner did you feel it?"

"What?"

"It was all gone, just for a moment."

Rena slid her gaze to him and he took off his glasses that she had somehow failed to notice before. He rubbed his eyes, thinking, then put them back on, "Now that you mention it yeah. For a moment, a small moment, the feelings were all gone." Bruce visibly shivered and everyone looked at Rena expectedly.

She didn't know what they wanted, so she just shuffled around on her feet for a moment. A staring contest ensued and before anyone could say another world the door opened and Maria was standing there with a frown and a clipboard.

"Director we need you to call for immediate deployment."

"Deployment of who?" he demanded.

"The Avengers sir. Loki and his army has been spotted in Hong Kong and they are currently raging a small war there."

Fury dragged a hand down his face and looked at the people in the room, "You have got to be kidding me. Well. You heard the women. Let's move!"

Everyone took one last look at Rena, Bruce's being full of a strange regretful look for some reason, and they all started heading out quickly. Confused, Rena started to follow but Director Fury stopped her at the door.

"Agent Stripe you are instructed to stay here. While your abilities are interesting it will not save you in a fight. I do not want my other agents babysitting you and getting themselves hurt."

"What's happening? What about the Avengers?" realization dawned on her as she saw everyone's retreating forms, "Wait _they're_ the Avengers?"

He chuckled, "Yes. Perhaps when you've been trained well enough you might even be able to join them."

He turned abruptly, the tail of his long coat hitting her shins as he all but ran out of there. Rena watched the group as they receded down the hall and around the corner. She rubbed her hand against her neck as if for comfort and felt something cold there. She looked at saw that she was still wearing her ring. Damn, she really needed to take it off.

For now though, she was just going to sit in her room and wait for her friends to return.

* * *

"It's basically Stuttgart all over again, huh Cap?"

"He's not very creative it seems."

"Boys pay attention, he's not alone this time and his friend doesn't looked too pleased about our arrival."

The jet slowed and hovered in the air. The exit hatch opened as Steve and Thor jumped out, weapons of choice in hand. Iron Man, who had been flying himself and communicating through their earpieces, landed in the center while Natasha parked.

Across from them Loki stood before a crowd of people who had been cowering in fear not moments ago. Now that his attention was averted elsewhere everyone began scattering like wild chickens.

"Ah The Avengers," a devilish smirk spread slowly across Loki's face. Thor bit back a sob as he saw the broken state his brother appeared to be in. Not long ago he seemed to be getting better, he had appeared sane in that jail cell. Now he not only looked lost, but it was as if all traces of hope had been completely erased from him.

His eyes were nearly black from insomnia, his cheeks so far sunken he looked ghostly. He looked starved and like he was truly going mad. This was all just in the course of one week, what in the nine realms had happened to him in such a short period of time?

Then, Thor's eyes shifted to the blue creature behind him. Thanos. The Mad Titan. It was all too clear that he was the one who had created the madman before them.

But then, he saw the red infinity stone adorned in a leather gauntlet on Loki's arm. The stone rested atop his right hand and had brightly pulsing veins that were snaking out of it and into his brother's skin. He was sure that probably had something to do with his madness as well, but his friends needed to tread carefully if they were ever to defeat Loki and his new compatriot.

"So these are the heroes that so easily defeated you before, eh?"

Thanos locked his eyes with Thor and licked his lips and oddly enough even that was somewhat threatening. Around them was a relatively small army of Chitauri, currently holding their positions while their master and leader took pleasure in their state of helplessness.

"They do not stand a chance this time," the look on Loki's face was dark. It was distant and his gaze was icy and far away.

"Brother… what has become of you now?" Thor pleaded, his knuckles turning white against Mjolnir.

"I am not your brother. Not anymore. And this time I mean it."

There was hardly a moment to react as Loki shot forward at the speed of light, landing the first hit against Thor's jaw. The Chitauri began firing at will while Thanos ducked as a star-clad Frisbee-like object was thrown at his head.

Thor went flying backwards and into the air, but was caught as a flash of red and yellow plucked him from the sky and landed him back down gently. Yellow beams of energy and powerful hammer strikes met the faces of several Chitauri soldiers before either party could say anything.

"Oh dear, I do believe I'm a bit late."

"Nice catch Vision," Tony praised.

"Stark we need you to get the civilians off the street."

"Didn't bring Wanda with?"

"She had a headache."

"No he probably just didn't want to carry her. They really need to teach her how to fly a jet. Nat that's all on you."

"Well when we get back to that base I will. And I'll even bring Rena along for fun."

"That's the spirit!"

The battlefield was strewn with Chitauri bodies within moments. The group fought hard but after a few moments they realized that the waves appeared to be endless. When they had landed there were maybe a hundred of the soldiers, some on land, some in the air, and they should've all fallen by now.

Steve looked for any holes in the sky. It was early morning in Hong Kong but it was still dark enough for the sky to be filled with a sprinkling of stars. The night would've made it hard to see anything, but he was almost positive that there was no portal to hell anywhere up there.

"Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" someone asked after the battle began to drag on.

"What that's there no end in sight to this madness?"

"Loki has the reality stone. There's a chance we might not even be fighting anything but our imaginations."

Tony sighed heavily into the mics, "Great. More brain magic. Where's the weird mind controller girl when you need her?"

Iron Man dropped quickly to avoid being shot at by one of the several Chitauri who were chasing him on their flying vehicles. Below, he saw the shine of Cap's shield and he landed, aimed, and fired at the shield. Seeing this, Steve projected the beam upwards and into the oncoming group of enemies.

Several arrows shot out in quick succession and an irritated feminine sigh was heard through the mics, "Clint! What are you doing here you should be resting."

A heavy grunt and a few more bodies fell. No one was quite sure where the sniper was, but if one thing was clear then it was that the building near the corner was no longer a safe spot to be close to.

"I told you I'm fine. Since you wouldn't let me come with I drove myself. I'm of no use to anyone in New York."

"Clint you could die. Then you really won't be of any use to us."

There was a playful sigh on the other end, "You never appreciate me and my efforts."

"I'll buy you a whole pack of cookies when we get back."

"Sweet."

The feed went silent as an unnecessarily massive amount of Chitauri soldiers came bursting out through the foliage of the woods behind them. The sounds of guns and war cries could be heard for miles as they closed in on the group.

"Code green?" Tony asked, out of breath.

Others agreed, "Code green. Banner?"

There was silence on the end of the line, but out from the lining of trees a moment later the Hulk could be seen running at full speed and straight into the fight. He cleared a path and was aiming towards Thanos, who had been standing cockily in the middle of it all, but just before the moment of impact the man disappeared into thin air.

Bruce, as the Hulk, stumbled and fell into a nearby building. He recovered immediately, and though he was confused, he quickly switched targets.

Thor had lost track of his brother momentarily, but he was quickly found when the God of Thunder tried to do as his name suggested and rain lighting down upon the ground. As he was doing so Loki appeared from thin air with a mighty punch, landing it just above his temple.

Thor stumbled back and blinked several times to clear the white spots that were forming. He looked at Loki and pursed his lips. Loki had never been one for physical violence as he typically lacked the stamina or strength for it. No, something was very wrong, but what was it?

His eyes fell to the stone again.

 _I must get that away from him_ , he thought.

Thor jumped back as Loki's fist came flying at him again. His entire body was still sore from their fight the previous day, but he noticed that since then Loki seemed to have gotten taller. Normally they were close to the same height, but now, at this close range, he saw that he must have grown a few inches.

It was the power of the reality stone. He was making himself different, changing the laws of reality on himself.

Thankfully, the reality stone probably didn't allow Loki to see into the future because as he went to throw another punch he was thrown off course by one good throw from Cap's shield. Loki hit the ground, groaned, and was halfway to standing but Thor beat him to it by setting his hammer down on top of him quickly. He made sure to pin the arm with the stone on it down while standing on the other to keep him still.

His brother rolled his eyes in irritation, "We're back to this are we?"

"If you insist in playing these games than I will not play by your rules."

Loki quirked a dark eyebrow, "I never took use as a cheater brother. Though you did leave the lying to me and Odin, so I suppose that was your only option."

Thor let loose a quiet growl, not noticing one of the Chitauri soldiers advancing behind him. Before it could strike it was quickly knocked down as the Hulk came running by and punted it halfway across China.

Still frustrated, he started to reach for the stone. Loki smirked and Thor couldn't help but be a touched concerned, "What?' he demanded.

"I just wouldn't do that if I were you. Though I guess I'm not, so have fun!"

Fed up with this nonsense Thor rolled his eyes and ripped the gauntlet from Loki's sleeve. His fingers brushed the smooth round stone and in his mind everything went to a dark place.

The feelings coursing through him couldn't be described even if he had all of eternity to come up with a proper explanation. There was not just pain, but agony. Not just fear, but absolute dread. Out of the corner of his eye he could see an oddly relieved look fall across Loki's face as the trickster passed out.

Thor heard a soft voice hissing in his mind. It wasn't saying anything in particular, but he knew that he was being rejected. This stone did not want him. It did not want to give its power to him.

Before he could react any which way, he was punched for who knows how many times that day and was thrown harshly to the ground. Thanos plucked the leather glove from the ground and made a hasty retreat.

He and his army of Chitauri soldiers were all gone in the blink of eye, leaving everyone very confused. The only sounds that could be heard was the Hulk destroying a line of trees a few yards away.

Steve was the first to recover from his shock, "Lullaby, quick."

Natasha ran off and the others slowly came to. Loki was completely out cold and Thor, with several broken bones, stood and popped what he could back into place. He retrieved his hammer and hefted Loki up over his shoulder.

Without a word the group got into their jet. Thor set Loki into a seat and found a pair of handcuffs to put him in. If he woke up and seriously wanted to escape then those flimsy Midgardian chains would be nothing against his magic, but then he thought back to the look on his face when Thor had relieved him of the stone's power.

From that look alone he got the feeling that the stone did not want him either. In a way, this news was soothing.

Thor waited until Bruce had returned, wrapped in a towel, and they had taken off for him to mention that Thanos had escaped with the stone. No one said anything, no one got mad. Thor glanced over at his brother and smiled slightly as he had referred to him as thus, even if it was only once. He wanted to believe that this had all been a setup, that his brother had been a decoy in some way, but honestly he just didn't know what to believe anymore.

Instead he held his breathe and waited until they got back to Fury.


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

Rena didn't get to talk to anyone until Monday.

Sunday evening Director Fury knocked on her door and told her she was being transported yet again. Not bothering to ask why quite yet, she asked if she had time to shower to which he replied with a, "Yes, but be quick."

She got ready as fast as she could, which really wasn't too long as she didn't wear any makeup or anything. When she came out there was a duffle bag and a note that told her to bring all of her clothes and whatever else she had of personal value. So she packed her five uniforms and her workout clothes before zipping up and heading out in the day clothes Tony had let her keep.

She was ushered outside to where a helicopter was primed and ready for takeoff. The blades rotating furiously. She settled in and since her hair was still soaking wet it made the seat damp within minutes.

This time she noticed it was just a regular everyday helicopter. The kind for news that you see hovering above all the danger. The back had a roomy six seats and Fury sat across from her, staring quietly out the window behind her.

Rena was buckled in snugly and was running her finger over her ring, trying to soothe her thoughts. It felt weird to be moving to another base already. She wondered if she had done something wrong and was actually being taken to some special jail or something.

Eventually she found her nerve, "Director?" He looked at her, indicating that he was his listening though he said nothing, "Um… why am I being transferred?"

"The Avengers were successful in the capture of a dangerous criminal. I do not want said criminal in my city, in my country, where he could escape and wreak havoc upon innocent civilians. Where we're going will be remote, more secure. You're coming with because of your newly discovered powers and in theory, we can see what's going on in this man's mind. With, of course, proper training which you will start tomorrow morning immediately."

Rena looked down at the ground, kicking her feet, "Uh… okay Sir."

She felt as if someone was staring at her. She looked up and saw the Director still looking at her with his intense gaze. He cleared his throat before speaking, "Steve, Natasha, Dr. Banner, and Stark are all there. They'll help you train along with various other members of our team. The first girl is Wanda Maximoff and she'll, in theory, be able to help you understand your ability to experience the emotions of others."

Rena wasn't sure if she was excited or scared to train her newfound powers. On the one hand it seemed incredibly interesting and almost kind of fun, but on the other she wasn't sure if she wanted to feel someone's inner pain like that again. It felt too wrong and too intimate for her, like she shouldn't be intruding in such a way.

It didn't matter though, her powers have made their appearance and if her Director needed her to use them then she would.

The rest of the ride was as silent as could be. When they finally landed she was sent immediately to her new room to unpack and get comfortable. As they had entered the facility she noticed the white dome-like structure of the place and was rather impressed by its fine architecture.

The day had already been half over, and Director Fury instructed her to get a good night's sleep. The ride had taken only about thirty minutes in the fast moving air machine, but she found that she hadn't sleep very well the night prior as she had spent it being worried about everyone else.

She knew they were around here somewhere though, so that set her mind at ease and she quickly fell asleep at only eight o'clock.

The next morning, she wanted to hug Steve the moment she saw his familiar smiling face, but she held back and instead rubbed her hands against one another. She wanted to ask him how everything went, but again she decided to wait until the time was right.

On the bright side he looked relatively unharmed, so that was a good sign right?

She realized that on the trip over Director Fury hadn't really told her what she'd be doing now, but she was currently face to face with the blond haired man and he was pulling out a slip of paper.

He began reading off of it, "So Rena… I have your new schedule here…"

He handed it to her and she looked down at it, confused. Just three short days ago they had briefly talked about how her training would consist of cardio and weight training. Then again three days ago no one had realized she'd had more than one ability.

On the slip of paper were all of her friend's names, plus others. It had each of their names on it with a scale that rated them at a level of intensity. It started with the Wanda girl that Director Fury had mentioned the other day and went all the way to someone named Bucky at the end.

Most she recognized, but there were a few names she didn't. She pointed to one of them and looked at Steve, "What does this mean?"

"We've decided to put the focus on your mind reading powers for now. We've taken some time to discuss where we think each of us falls and this is the list we ended up with. Dr. Banner theorizes that with time and practice you'll be able to use your powers without any trouble. Wanda is waiting in the next room if you're ready."

Rena exhaled slowly and shut her eyes for a moment. She wasn't sure if she _was_ ready for this. Things were moving so quickly around her that her head was spinning painfully. Still, she collected her nerves and nodded slowly.

Steve looked hesitant, but he started to walk into the next room anyway. He held the door for her and she saw that inside it was just a big empty room. There was a window on the far wall and two chairs facing each other in the center. It looked more like a torture chamber than anything.

A women was already sitting in one of the chairs. When she saw them she stood and smiled pleasantly. Her wavy brown hair was smooth and Rena found herself admiring it along with how she did her makeup.

"I am Wanda," the women nodded in her direction. Rena took note of her accent and she wasn't quite sure where to place it. Possibly Romanian?

"Renaissance. You can call me Rena."

Wanda smiled again and then gestured towards the seat. Rena sat and heard the door shut as Steve left the room, leaving her alone with this stranger. Across from her the brunette sat and moved the chair until their knees touched and she held up her hands. A moment later a red wispy aura began to appear around her fingers.

"If you do not mind, then I would like to see inside you for a moment to get settled."

Rena pursed her lips but nodded anyway. Wanda's hands came around her face and the red smoke enveloped her senses.

As if she were just blinking, she was back in the grocery store. The people around here were completely still, but a few feet away the door was flapping gently in the wind. She went out and saw the bus that had hit her, causing this whole mess in the first place.

She looked down and felt herself go rigid. She saw a body lying there in a tangled mess of hair and limbs. A pool of blood was moving in slow red rivers towards a sewer drain and her knees went weak. She stepped closer and saw that the face was not actually hers, but her mother's.

Beneath her mom's body she saw two sets of little arms. Her siblings. They were lying there helplessly, bleeding out and left to die. She felt movement and people were all around her but no one was stopping to help. No one cared about her and her family just as she had always feared.

She began crying before she could stop herself. She reached out, wanting to hold her family in her arms even if they were dead, but just as she reached out the vision ended and she was staring into Wanda's wide eyed gaze.

They were both silent for a moment. Wanda was the first to speak, "You care very much for your family. That's good, keep them in your heart while you are separated."

Rena's breathing was slightly erratic but she managed to pull herself together, "I guess that's what the Director meant when he said you could read minds."

She smiled but it was heavy and somewhat forced. Rena bit her lip and held her hands out with the palms facing upwards. All she wanted to do now was go lie down and cry, but she had to train. She had to get to the point where she wouldn't faint or become overwhelmed, though it would probably be impossible for her to not be affected by other's emotions in the slightest. Still, she could try to harden herself against them.

Wanda's gaze flicked down to her hands and then she removed her gloves and slowly set her hands on top of Rena's outstretched ones.

For once Rena was glad that the contact didn't bring immediate and crippling pain. Instead she felt the dull hollow ache of losing a loved one. Like what happened with Thor when she was passed out, but significantly less worse. Instead she saw little bits of memories floating here and there.

She briefly saw a boy with white-blond hair running at the speed of light. She felt how much he had meant to her, and what she had felt when he had died. She also felt a brief anger towards a strange metal creature, but she couldn't place the memory.

Wanda's feelings were mild, but they were still there and they were still hurting. These were things that appeared to have dulled over the months, time being the best medicine for her.

Usually all of the negative emotions were the ones that came forth, but since she was able to hold on for much longer she could feel past that and feel further into Wanda's mind. Aside from the pain of losing that man she felt a sense of protection and care for someone else. She couldn't see the face but she got the vague sense that this person was powerful and wore a cape. Yet, upon further inspection she was almost certain that it wasn't Thor.

She wasn't sure who this mystery man was, but Wanda had a soft spot in her heart for him.

Rena became aware of her surroundings again and when she felt nothing new coming from the other party she let go. Wanda blinked and then let out a slow breath and put her hands in her lap.

"That was strange," she said honestly.

Rena found herself laughing a small bit at that. Her smile fell as she thought of the boy who had died. Shifting in her seat she met Wanda's dark ringed eyes, "I saw… someone important to you, but judging from the emptiness inside you he must not be alive anymore. May I ask who this was?"

Her eyes widened just a smidge, "That was most likely my brother, Pietro. He died a year ago protecting and fighting for what he believed in."

Nodding, Rena crossed her arms. A moment later Wanda held out her hands again.

Hesitantly Rena held out hers but before they made contact she asked, "How long are we supposed to do this?"

"Until you feel nothing, only see it. When I first discovered my powers I was like you. I experienced other's emotions on an oddly personal level. The difference between you and me is that I do not take them away as you seem to."

"So I've heard. What is that like? To… to have all of the bad stuff taken away?"

Wanda pursed her lips in thought, "Peaceful. But also like I am incomplete. I do not feel right without those thoughts. I do not feel human. It's almost… unfair. To have all of my pain be taken so easily. I can only help myself. The weight of my thoughts shouldn't fall to someone else."

She held out her hands again, signaling for them to continue with Rena's practice. Sighing, Rena took her hands and braced herself.

This time Wanda's negativity didn't swirl into her as harshly. In fact it was much better than before. Either she was getting stronger, or she was getting used to her emotions. She hoped it was the former.

It was much easier to access Wanda's positive emotions this time. She was able to pick through the darkest parts with ease and without getting hurt or caught up in them in the slightest. After just a few seconds their emotions quieted and mingled together as if they were one. Rena let go and put her hands in her lap.

"Anything change?" Wanda asked.

She nodded, "Yes. It was much easier this time. I don't know if it's because I'm stronger or just getting used to you. Did it feel any different to you?"

"No. The same as well, just blank peace…" Wanda looked away. Averting her eyes to the ground as she spoke, "one could get lost in that pleasant nothingness. Remembering nothing but the good times. It's quite dangerous. Addictive if given the chance."

She gulped heavily, Wanda's words weighing down on her. The brunette stood without warning and started heading towards the door.

"Oh, are we finished for now?"

"I am. For now we will move you to the next level since it seems I have nothing left to offer. Natasha is the next step up. I will go find her."

The door closed with a heavy _clunk_ and she turned back around in her chair, not sure what to do. She kicked her feet back and forth and waited obediently. While she sat there she wished Steve had come in. She could've talked to him to make the time go by quicker.

She supposed there was nothing to be done about it now.

It was about twenty minutes, or what felt like it, before she heard the door opening again. Rena didn't turn around and instead waited patiently for Nat to seat herself.

Upon seeing a familiar face again, she smiled and wanted to hug her. Again, she refrained and just settled for a happy grin.

"I'm glad you're all okay. I haven't really been able to talk to anyone."

Natasha smiled back at her, "Just a little hiccup in the road is all. We got it taken care of. You'll be able to talk to everyone at lunch."

Rena pursed her lips and thought back to the way Bruce had looked at her right before they all left that meeting room. She bit the inside of her cheek and tried to find the right words, "Is Dr. Banner… upset with me?"

Nat gave her a confused yet worried look, "No of course not. What makes you say that?"

"I… he just seemed upset about something. You all… you're the Avengers right?"

Natasha offered her a comforting smile and crossed her long legs, "Or as Stark calls us "Earths mightiest heroes." Yes Rena we are. I don't know what was going through Bruce's head, but I can promise you that he's not mad. At least, not at you."

She was still worried, but put her concerns away for the moment. She should be training like Director Fury had asked, so she better get to it.

She held out her hands and Nat reached for them, "Are you sure you're ready for me?" Nat asked, but it was playful.

Rena appreciated the attempt to lighten the mood but she was still quite uncomfortable. Still, she tried to look brave, "As ready as I can be with these sudden training sessions."

With nothing left to say Natasha reached out and took Rena's hands on her own accord. Upon contact, Rena experienced another first. There was no extreme or severe pain as she was bracing for, but instead she felt as if every little move she ever made was or had been judged harshly.

She felt annoyed and slightly used. Deeper, she felt as if she had been the product of disappointment. As if nothing she ever did will ever be good enough for anybody. Rena didn't realize it but she was crying. She momentarily forgot that these weren't her feelings and all she could think of was how she was letting everyone down.

She was relying too much on her new friends wasn't she? She was just useless. She needed to train harder, to get stronger and better. Maybe one day she'll actually be able to help instead of just sitting by on the sidelines.

Her hands twitched as if she were ready to fire a gun. To her they twitched with the practice ease of an aged assassin, though in reality it was just a messy flop of her hand.

She felt weak and defenseless and utterly useless. Really, she was nothing wasn't she? Sure she couldn't die, but what good was that on the battlefield? What abilities could she possibly possess that would help everyone in the long run? She wanted nothing more than to run back home and pretend S.H.E.L.D had never came looking for.

Natasha's memories flowed in and mixed with hers strangely. After a few moments she wasn't sure what thoughts were hers anymore. In the middle of it all, she felt a deep respect and a powerful connection with Clint, which was strange. Everyone else's important friend or family member had just been a vague feeling, but Clint's face and voice and aura was so clear and present it was like he was there in the room with them.

She knew these were not her thoughts. She had not known Clint for very long, they had to be Natasha's thoughts.

With that realization she found her control again. She was not a trained assassin. She had not born in, what was it Russia? She was not best friends with Clint.

Her mind began to calm. All of those insecurities were not hers, yet in a way they were. They had stemmed from Nat's own feelings, her own painful past and the thoughts that she was never good enough.

Right, she was supposed to be training.

She was feeling tired though. Exhaustion was creeping up fast and she tried to pull her mind back into her body. It took longer than she would've liked, but she found herself and let her arms fall to her side lazily.

Her breathing was heavy from the emotional turmoil she had just put herself through and she knew her mind couldn't take much more of this. Natasha's thoughts and feelings were incredibly relatable, and therefore had been easy for Rena to get lost in.

For a brief period of time they had consumed her, made her forget who she was. They made her think she and Nat were one person, that she was merely lost in her own memories.

One thing for certain was that Nat's respect for Clint had pulled her out of there. If he hadn't appeared she might've been stuck in Nat's head for hours.

"How you feeling champ?" Rena looked up and saw that Natasha's cheeks were slightly flushed and that she was probably uncomfortable at the thought of having her brain poked at so intimately. She was an international assassin/agent whose _job_ was to keep secrets.

Rena straightened herself, "I'm okay. How are… you? What did it feel like?"

"The others were right. You kind of lose yourself. You can't really move. It's weird, but kind of nice. It's like a massage for your brain. Thor and Bruce said they felt worse after but I actually feel better."

"Really?" Rena felt some of her spirits lifting after her previous train of thoughts of feeling useless, "that's good to hear."

"I don't think either of us can go for round two though. How about we grab some lunch and call it a day?"

Rena smiled, "Deal."


End file.
